Increased AI use leads law firm to cut finance, HR and IT roles in London by 10%

"The head of PwC has also indicated that AI may lead to fewer workers being hired at the accountancy and consulting group. Clifford Chance, one of the largest international law firms, is making about 50 roles redundant in areas such as finance, HR and IT with role changes for up to 35 other jobs, according to the Financial Times which first reported the cuts."

"White-collar, or office-based jobs, are commonly cited as being vulnerable to advances in AI, the term for computer systems that perform cognitive tasks typically associated with human intelligence. AI is able to help employees perform some tasks faster such as coding, research, scheduling meetings and reviewing contracts and experts believe companies will consider banking those productivity gains by hiring fewer people, or cutting staff numbers as systems become capable of handling certain tasks autonomously."

Clifford Chance is reducing London business services staff by about 10%, making roughly 50 roles redundant and proposing changes to up to 35 other positions. The firm cites greater use of artificial intelligence, reduced demand for some business services, and more work being done at offices outside its main UK–US operations in countries like Poland and India. A spokesperson said proposed changes could create new roles, change role scopes, revise team structures and in some cases reduce roles. AI can speed tasks such as coding, research, scheduling and contract review, and many bosses report AI allows employee reductions.

Read at www.theguardian.com