One Zero Bank, Israel's digital banking venture, is laying off roughly 25 employees, about 7% of its workforce of around 350 people, as it pushes further into automation and artificial intelligence. The bank will also leave about ten additional positions unfilled, pulling total headcount down to roughly 10% below its original staffing plan. Unlike previous rounds of cuts, this one arrives alongside growing revenue and a narrowing bottom line.
Notifications went out to affected staff on Sunday morning. In a letter to employees, CEO Eyal Gafni called the decision 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 are being made "wherever technology helps us accelerate processes." For consumers who rely on digital banking and want to understand the broader shift toward automated, data-driven financial services, the same logic that pushes banks toward leaner operations is pushing individuals toward tools that protect their own data footprint, whether that means encrypted browsing or simply opting for a plan you can cancel monthly rather than locking into long-term commitments while habits and providers evolve. a plan you can cancel monthly
From Startup Build-Out to Efficiency Mandate
Gafni framed the layoffs as part of a broader transition from the bank's establishment phase to one demanding substantial growth without a matching rise in operating costs. "These changes, combined with our clear ambition to be the best and fairest bank in the system, require us to remain a fast, agile, and efficient organization at all times," he wrote, "enabling us to continue growing without expanding our workforce or cost base." He also pointed to generative AI tools as a way to simplify internal processes, though the bank has stopped short of saying the departing employees are being directly replaced by machines. Instead, the message is one of structural leanness: automation allows the same output with fewer people.
A Pattern of Repeated Workforce Reductions
This marks the third round of layoffs at One Zero since early 2024. More than 30 employees were dismissed earlier that year, followed by another 23 in September, bringing the 2024 total above 50. At the end of 2025, the bank reported 354 direct employees, broadly consistent with current levels, suggesting that repeated cuts have become a recurring feature of its operating model rather than a one-time correction. The strategy is consistent with plans the bank laid out in its 2025 reporting, which flagged automation and AI as central to reducing both operating costs and the manpower required to run day-to-day functions.
Improving Finances Despite the Cuts
The numbers suggest the strategy is paying off financially, even as it reshapes the workforce. Salary and related costs fell 8.8% in 2025 to NIS 120 million, down from NIS 131.7 million the year before, a decline 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, operating expenses dropped 10% to NIS 149 million, and the net loss narrowed 27% to NIS 84 million. The bank's customer base has also passed 200,000. Annual losses have shrunk steadily, from NIS 357 million in 2023 to NIS 268 million in 2024 and NIS 214 million in 2025, with management targeting profitability in 2027 and, according to Gafni's comments in August, an approaching first profitable month.