The unlikely seaside town on frontline of AI threat

Bournemouth's JP Morgan campus, with more than 5,300 staff processing over $1tn in daily global transactions, anchors Dorset's financial services sector, which employs 24,000 people across 2,500 companies. Regional finance hubs across the UK face an existential threat from AI as banks including Barclays and Standard Chartered announce thousands of job cuts, putting back-office roles such as data processors, compliance checkers and entry-level analysts at risk. Unions are drafting an "AI agreement" to protect workers, while local leaders warn of ripple effects across regional economies and call for government contingency planning.