Latest news

The Finance Sector Union and its members at NAB have forced CEO Andrew Irvine into an embarrassing backdown over his botched restructure that would have seen 1500 workers lose their jobs before Christmas.

The backdown comes as NAB announces another excessive annual profit of $6.14 billion – demonstrating NAB’s ruthless pursuit of profits over the wellbeing of its own people.

Late last month, the bank announced it would layoff 1500 workers before the festive season, which would have avoided a scheduled January 2027 pay rise.

However, following fierce worker backlash and a series of intensive meetings between the bank including some with Mr Irvine and the union, NAB has agreed to defer forced redundancies to 27 January 2027 and extended worker consultation to 11 November.

The bank has also agreed to improved retraining and redeployment opportunities, improved redundancy payments with January salary increases included in final calculations, and greater transparency and accountability, including detailed assessments of proposed changes and ongoing engagement on work, health and safety concerns.

The bank's sudden announcement that it would slash its headcount by 6% sent shockwaves through the already stressed NAB workforce.

Thousands of NAB staff around the country shared their horror stories of cancelled Christmas plans and the dread of contemplating unemployment amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Some workers broke down during meetings with FSU representatives, while others expressed white-hot anger at their treatment. NAB exacerbated their anxiety by keeping workers in the dark about how the redundancy process would proceed.

Despite the bank’s concessions, the FSU continues to hold grave concerns for the health and safety of all NAB workers – including those left behind to pick up the pieces and face even heavier workloads.

NAB's financial success has been built on the hard work, dedication and expertise of its employees. Yet CEO Andrew Irvine has treated those same workers with disrespect, reducing them to little more than costs to be cut in the pursuit of greater profits.

Quotes attributable to Finance Sector Union National President Wendy Streets:

"Today NAB is celebrating billions in profits, but just weeks ago Andrew Irvine was preparing to throw 1500 workers out of their jobs right before Christmas," Ms Streets said.

"NAB's success doesn't happen without its people. These are the workers who have built the bank's reputation, supported its customers and kept the business running. Yet Andrew Irvine has treated them as nothing more than a cost to be cut."

"Thousands of NAB workers stood together, demanded better and forced Andrew Irvine to back down. These concessions were not handed to workers – they were fought for and won.

"But delaying redundancies is not the same as saving jobs. NAB still intends to cut 2,500 positions, and we remain deeply concerned about the impact on workers, their families and those left behind to manage growing workloads.

"A bank making billions in profit can afford to invest in its people rather than discard them. We will continue fighting for every job and holding Andrew Irvine accountable."

Media contact: Sam Burgess 0434 165 630 and [email protected]