'Demeaning': Halimah Yacob calls out StanChart CEO for describing workers as 'lower-value human capital' in redundancy plan

Former president Halimah Yacob has criticised Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters for his use of the phrase “lower-value human capital”.

He was describing the jobs that would be slashed amid the bank's AI-driven restructuring plans.

In a Facebook post on May 19, Halimah said she found the remarks “disturbing".

Referring to Winters' comments, she wrote:

“Workers are human beings with families, not just a form of capital.”

“They too have contributed to the bank and now because of AI have become redundant. It’s demeaning to describe them as ‘lower-value human capital’.”

Before entering politics, Halimah was a prominent figure in Singapore’s labour movement.

She worked as the director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) legal services department, served as its Deputy Secretary General and was the director of Singapore’s Institute of Labour Studies (now the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute).

She also served as the Workers' Vice-chairperson of the Standards Committee of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

Comments could affect retrenched workers and remaining staff

In the bank's May 19 announcement, Winters described plans to cut more than 15 per cent of its support staff by 2030.

This translates to almost 8,000 jobs, reported The Financial Times (FT).

"It's not cost-cutting... It’s replacing, in some cases, lower-value human capital with the financial capital and investment capital we’re putting in," he said.

“We don’t have job losses, but we do have job role reductions in favour of the machines, and that will accelerate as we go forward into AI.”

In her Facebook post, the former president said that such a description is "demeaning" and "negative", especially as retrenched staff look for other jobs.

It may also affect the morale of those who remain behind, as they may now see themselves as "just another form of capital to their employer, who don’t really care about how they feel".

She ended her post by urging companies to treat workers with dignity.

“Carry out retrenchments humanely. Treat workers with respect.”

Committed to growth: StanChart

A Standard Chartered spokesperson told Mothership that the bank remains focused on expanding operations in Singapore and ASEAN.

“We will continue to hire more relationship managers, accelerate product innovation, improve our digital and client experience, as well as upgrade and launch new client centres," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not say whether the planned reductions would affect Singapore employees.

StanChart added that its restructuring plans align with the government's workforce transformation efforts, and highlighted that it has trained over 8,000 staff locally as part of efforts to prepare workers for changing industry demands.

"We are supporting our people through change, with respect and care. Some roles will reduce, others will grow, and new ones will emerge.

And where roles fall away in line with evolving technology, capabilities, and client needs, we will provide advance notice and engage as early as we can, including conversations around redeployment opportunities."