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CBA last month announced the jobs would be made redundant due to the introduction of a new AI-powered ‘voice bot’, which they claimed had led to a reduction in call volumes. 

Members told us this was an outright lie and did not reflect the reality of what was happening in Direct Banking. Call volumes were in fact increasing and CBA was scrambling to manage the situation by offering staff overtime and directing Team Leaders to answer calls. 

CBA continually refused to be transparent about call volumes, so we recently took them to the Fair Work Commission.   

CBA admits they got it wrong 

Management has admitted they didn’t properly consider that an increase in calls would continue over a number of months. 

CBA will be issuing an apology to the 45 Customer Service Direct staff but will continue to offer a payment to exit for impacted staff who choose it. 

Getting CBA to rescind these job cuts is a massive win – but the damage has already been done for our 45 colleagues who have had to endure the stress and worry of facing redundancy, some of whom have been with the bank for decades and were suddenly confronted with the prospect of being unable to pay their bills. 

It’s a stark reminder to all of us that we can never trust employers to do the right thing by workers, and change can happen at any time and impact any one of us. 

Our best defence is to stand together with our colleagues and be part of the FSU, so you get support and protection when you need it most. If you’re not yet a member of our union, make sure you join today. 

Our next hearing at the Fair Work Commission will be held on Monday 25 August. If you haven’t already, please share your story and help strengthen our disputes against CBA – whether your workloads have increased or you know a colleague who lost their job due to offshoring or AI – we want to hear from you. 

We’ll continue to keep members updated as things progress.