Commonwealth Bank of Australia to Cut 192 Back-Office Jobs
Australia’s biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), has announced plans to cut 192 jobs from its back-office operations. The job cuts will affect employees in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, including some workers currently employed by BankWest. The Finance Sector Union (FSU) revealed that these cuts are a result of automation initiatives in CBA’s retail banking and home lending business, aimed at simplifying processes.
The FSU expressed concern over CBA’s focus on cost-cutting and profit-boosting, stating that the bank is showing no hesitation in putting workers on the unemployment queue. FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano criticized the bank’s actions, emphasizing that this latest round of job cuts brings the total number of jobs lost at CBA in the past year to 1085.
CBA responded to the FSU’s claims by stating that they regularly review the skills needed and how they organize their workforce. The bank acknowledged that certain roles and work may change or no longer be required, but did not confirm the exact number of jobs to be cut. However, sources have previously suggested that up to 200 jobs could be eliminated, with some employees being redeployed into other roles.
These job cuts by CBA come amidst reports of other major Australian banks, such as National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp, also reducing their workforce due to challenging macroeconomic conditions characterized by high inflation and elevated interest rates.
