Banks: American Express cuts 3,500 jobs

New York. The credit card company American Express is cutting around 3,500 jobs despite good business. CEO Steve Squeri is trying to keep rising costs under control in this way. That corresponds to five percent of the total 78,000 employees, the manager told Bloomberg TV on Friday. American Express is not alone in cutting jobs in the financial sector: the British bank Barclays just announced that it would cut 5,000 jobs, and the US bank Citigroup has also cut jobs on a large scale.

Investors on the stock market reacted to the group's quarterly figures. While Squeri raised its profit target for 2026, analysts had expected even higher card sales from customers. American Express shares lost three percent shortly after trading began in New York.

Squeri is becoming more optimistic for the current year given customers' enthusiasm for purchasing. Earnings per share are now expected to reach $18.30 to $18.60, the US company announced in New York. That is at least 40 cents more than previously targeted for the maximum case. In the third quarter, American Express also benefited from the sale of its stake in Global Business Travel Group, which brought in a good $750 million after taxes.

In the past quarter, the company increased its sales by nine percent year-on-year to $20.1 billion (17.9 billion euros). Thanks also to the special effect from the sale of shares, the surplus grew by 28 percent to $3.7 billion. But even without this position, American Express earned more than analysts expected. The company spent part of the special income on an efficiency program.

Unlike Visa and Mastercard, American Express not only processes card payments but also grants loans. In addition, Amex is increasingly targeting wealthy customers who, for comparatively high card fees, receive, among other things, discounts on travel and access to airport lounges.