The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has blasted the Commonwealth Bank for axing frontline roles in favour of automation and offshoring, calling it a new low for a bank already under fire for sending jobs overseas.
A total of 90 jobs are due to be cut, with the union warning that CBA is now replacing skilled Australian workers with AI systems as well as cheaper offshore labour.
This includes 45 roles in Direct Banking, cut due to the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank’s inbound customer enquiries line in June this year.
Jobs cut also include local Customer Messaging Specialist roles – those who customers interact with through the bank’s online chat. This is also being done in CBA India, which is currently advertising more roles.
The FSU says workers affected by new technology should be retrained and supported into new roles, not discarded in the name of cost-cutting.
The union supports the use of new technology and AI in banking but say it must be done in partnership with workers, not at their expense.
These further sackings raise serious concerns about CEO Matt Comyn’s place on the federal productivity roundtable.
Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano said:
“Just when we think CBA can’t sink any lower, they start cutting jobs because of AI on top of sneakily offshoring work to India.
“Workers want a tech savvy bank, but they expect to be part of the change, not replaced by it.
“Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI. Yet rather than invest in its people the CBA are simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring.
“If this is what Matt Comyn calls productivity, we’re seriously concerned about his place at the national productivity roundtable. His carefully curated commitment to policy reform in Australia just looks like hollow PR when acts like this expose that his real agenda is just more profit for shareholders.
“There is a human cost to this. You can’t just replace frontline jobs with a voice bot and expect the same service for customers.
“Customers shouldn’t expect to speak to someone in Australia anymore, or even someone with a voice box.
“CBA made $10 billion last year. It has no excuse for treating its workforce like this.”
Media contact: David Imber – 0413 274 204
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