Commonwealth Bank is cutting 119 jobs, saying the reductions are the result of programs inside the bank coming to an end, work being “simplified” and a changing mix of skills and roles needed across the group.
The Finance Sector Union on Thursday took aim at CBA over the job cuts, and said about a third of the cuts would affect Bankwest, which in 2024 shifted to an online-only bank, resulting in a wave of branch closures.
The cuts come two months after CBA cut 300 jobs in February, at the same time as it also rolled out a program to prepare workers for likely changes to the workforce caused by the rise of artificial intelligence.
“Still reeling from … job cuts announced mere months ago, CBA employees are now peering down the barrel of another 119 jobs being wiped out, with seemingly no end in sight,” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.
A CBA spokesperson pointed to the overall growth in staff numbers over 2025, saying it employed about 49,000 people across the country and its workforce had grown by about 2500 people last financial year.
“Within a workforce of this scale, there is ongoing movement through hiring, internal mobility and recruitment in priority capability areas,” they said.
“We also regularly review the roles and skills we need to deliver the best customer outcomes. Some roles are shifting, new roles are being created, and some roles are reducing as programs finish, work is simplified and the mix of roles and skills across the bank evolves.”
Banks in Australia and overseas have invested heavily in AI and have signalled they expect to use the technology for productivity gains – including cutting jobs.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank earlier this month said it would seek to cut costs by about $70 million as it also announced two new technology partnerships. The regional lender did not say how many jobs could be affected, but chief executive Richard Fennell said at the time it would be a “challenging time for our people”.
The FSU said the CBA job cuts, which included six jobs “impacted by automation”, came at a time when workers at the bank were highly anxious about job security. The union said a recent FSU survey found 72 per cent of CBA workers were worried about job security due to the threats of AI and Australian jobs being replaced by jobs overseas.
The union is negotiating a new enterprise agreement with the bank, and it is pushing for job security to be a priority issue.
The CBA spokesperson said as part of the new program to help AI-affected workers that the bank announced in February, it was “strengthening how we support people impacted by change”.
These included a voluntary four-week program focused on “career transition” and a hub to help staff seek out internal job vacancies.
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Clancy Yeates is deputy business editor. He has covered banking and financial services, and was previously national business correspondent in the Canberra bureau.Connect via X or email.