One Zero Bank Cuts Staff Again as Automation Expands

One Zero Bank is cutting roughly 25 jobs, about 7% of its 350-person workforce, in a move its chief executive frames as a necessary step toward leaner, technology-driven operations rather than a response to financial distress. The Israeli digital bank will also leave around 10 additional positions unfilled, pushing total staffing to about 10% below its original plan. Unlike previous rounds of cuts, this one comes as the bank reports accelerating revenue growth and a narrowing net loss.

Notifications went out to affected employees on Sunday morning. In a letter to staff, CEO Eyal Gafni described the decision as difficult, writing that those being let go "built ONE ZERO alongside us, invested in it, and played a significant role in our journey and our successes." The cuts are spread across departments rather than concentrated in one unit, with the bank saying adjustments were made "wherever technology helps us accelerate processes." As digital banks lean more heavily on automated systems to manage customer accounts and transactions, questions about data handling and surveillance inevitably follow, and many users remain unsure about whether you can still be tracked with a VPN even when interacting with increasingly automated financial platforms.

A Pattern of Efficiency Drives

This marks the third layoff round at One Zero since early 2024, when more than 30 employees were dismissed, followed by another 23 in September of that year. In total, the bank shed more than 50 positions during 2024 alone. What distinguishes this latest cut is timing: previous rounds coincided with heavier losses and a bank still finding its footing, whereas the current reduction arrives alongside improving fundamentals, suggesting a deliberate strategic recalibration rather than crisis management.

Automation Without Direct Replacement Claims

Gafni pointed to advances in artificial intelligence as central to simplifying and accelerating internal processes, though the bank has stopped short of claiming that departing employees are being directly replaced by AI systems. Instead, One Zero frames expanded automation and generative AI tools as enablers of a leaner organizational structure - allowing growth without a proportional increase in headcount or operating costs. This distinction matters: banks increasingly use AI for fraud detection, customer service, and back-office processing, but attributing job losses explicitly to algorithmic replacement carries reputational and regulatory sensitivities that most institutions prefer to avoid stating outright.

Financial Trajectory Points Toward Profitability

The numbers support Gafni's efficiency narrative. Salary and related costs fell 8.8% in 2025 to NIS 120 million, down from NIS 131.7 million the year before, which the bank attributed to "adjusting the workforce mix to current challenges and tightening budgetary discipline." In the first half of 2026, revenue rose 33% to NIS 66 million, while operating expenses dropped 10% to NIS 149 million, narrowing the net loss by 27% to NIS 84 million. One Zero's customer base has surpassed 200,000, and its annual losses have shrunk steadily - from NIS 357 million in 2023 to NIS 268 million in 2024 and NIS 214 million in 2025. The bank has set 2027 as its target for full profitability, with Gafni suggesting in August that its first profitable month was approaching within a matter of months.