Media release

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) strongly condemns Bendigo Bank’s partnership with global tech companies Infosys and Genpact, which represents a dramatic and dangerous escalation in the fight to protect Australian jobs from being wiped out by AI.

At a briefing this morning, Bendigo Bank refused to outline the number of staff that would be impacted, but the FSU anticipates it could be in the hundreds – with some reports indicating up to 1000.

The union says it is unlikely that any area of the bank will be spared in this next phase of the bank’s so-called ‘productivity program’, with the first wave of cuts expected over the coming months in the technology division.

The FSU is aware other areas impacted include business and agribusiness, lending assessment and fulfillment, third party banking fulfillment, lending operations – consumer, customer processing and wealth operations, customer remediation, mortgage help, operational excellence, finance, financial crime operations and contact centre.

The FSU holds significant concerns that business operations impacts will have devastating direct and flow on effects on customers and communities who rely on Bendigo Bank for their banking needs.

The union also warns this leaves many questions unanswered about how sensitive information will be managed by the bank, with risks that customer data could be housed offshore.

The FSU is demanding Bendigo Bank CEO Richard Fennell immediately reverse this partnership decision, which will have devastating consequences on both local jobs and everyday Australians.

The Federal Government has repeatedly told the FSU that they will take action if and when AI becomes an issue for Australian jobs.

That time has well and truly arrived. It’s now up to the government to explain how these dramatic cuts are in keeping with their own AI plan to “ensure [AI] adoption is transparent, safe and responsibly managed”.

The union says an AI plan on paper won’t stop AI-related job cuts; Australians urgently need regulation that will genuinely protect workers.

Quotes attributable to FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano:

“The race to the bottom has well and truly started in Australia when it comes to AI adoption and offshoring, and Australians should be outraged by the failures of both business and government.

“We are now seeing in real time the disastrous consequences of a complete lack of AI regulation, and Australian workers are paying the ultimate price.

“The idea of Bendigo Bank being a community bank is now dead. It has completely abandoned any pretense of being Australia’s most trusted bank.

“The fact that Bendigo Bank cannot say how many jobs will be impacted inspires zero confidence that management understands the full ramifications of what they are doing.

“We therefore demand that CEO Richard Fennell and the board immediately reverse their decision before it’s too late.

“The Federal Government has also demonstrated incredible naivety when it comes to its light touch approach to regulating AI.

“Australian workers have long understood that banks and big business were never going to act ethically. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has been asleep at the wheel, but it’s not too late for them to step up and protect local jobs.”

For more information: [email protected] / 0401 738 298