American Express is laying off about 5% of its roughly 77,000 employees worldwide and booking a $336 million charge for the restructuring, CEO Stephen Squeri told analysts during Amex’s third-quarter call. CFO Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC the company is removing management layers so it can automate more work with AI over the next few years. Squeri also said Amex won’t let AI assistants roam its systems freely and will only allow agents that connect through approved API or MCP channels, to protect cardholders and merchants. The cuts came in a quarter when Amex beat profit estimates and lifted its full-year outlook, partly thanks to selling its Global Business Travel Group stake, a sale that also helped fund the restructuring.
