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9 July 2026

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has asked the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to reveal the real reason behind its decision to axe another 276 jobs.

The bank told staff last week that 176 technology and engineering roles would be cut, with further redundancies affecting the Chief Operations Office, Business Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, Human Resources and Retail Banking and Support.

The CBA attributed the job cuts to workflow automation, organisational realignments, streamlining and the consolidation of existing functions.

However, roles with similar job titles and functions as the redundant roles have once again been advertised at CBA India, where labour costs are lower and worker protections are more limited.

The union has now lodged a formal dispute with the CBA to disclose the true rationale behind the job cuts or potentially face further action at the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The CBA, one of the world’s most profitable banks, reported a $5.44 billion cash profit for the first half of the 2026 financial year, up 6% on the previous corresponding period. The latest redundancies brought the total number of jobs cut by the bank this year to nearly 800.

A recent FSU survey found that almost three-quarters of CBA staff were concerned about their job security.

Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano said:

“This outrage is just management’s latest attempt to make CBA an Australian bank in name only,” Ms Angrisano said.

“The FSU doesn’t buy the bank’s excuse that the job cuts are the result of better processes.

“We’ll be watching closely when CBA releases their full-year profit results soon on 12 August, including their CBA India employment numbers.

“This is a bank that regularly turns billions of dollars in profit and claims to invest in skilling and developing local workers, yet continues to brutally axe local jobs in favour of offshoring for even greater profits.

“CEO Matt Comyn recently said about global partnerships – ‘the best partnerships build Australian capability, not substitute it’.

“If he is genuine about building Australian capability he can start by not giving Australian jobs to our global partners and by being straight with his own staff.”