Australia’s banking sector is going through one of its sharpest rounds of workforce reductions in years, and on Thursday the people affected began to speak publicly about how it feels from the inside.
National Australia Bank announced earlier this week that it will cut up to 2,500 jobs, around 6 percent of its workforce. Staff have now told reporters that the process is leaving employees competing for fewer positions, while rival Westpac confirmed further redundancies of its own.
What NAB announced
In a statement to the stock exchange, NAB said up to 2,500 roles will go by mid-2027, with up to 1,500 of them leaving before the end of this year. The bank also plans to “materially reduce” its use of consultants and external contractors.
NAB reported 42,471 full-time equivalent employees in its latest annual report, so the reduction is a significant reshaping. It expects a restructuring charge of about A$300 million before tax in 2027, compared with about A$80 million in each of 2025 and 2026.
Chief executive Andrew Irvine said the cuts target corporate functions and senior management layers, with no material impact on customer-facing banking roles. He said the changes would reduce duplication and speed up decisions, and that the bank’s strategy remains unchanged.
Staff accounts: “spill and fill”
Current and former employees told the ABC that the bank is using what they call a “spill and fill” approach, in which all staff in an affected area must reapply for a smaller number of positions. They also described an increased push to move work offshore and to adopt artificial intelligence.
NAB’s formal statement did not mention AI. In August, however, Irvine told a business audience that some roles would go because of automation, and he has since rejected suggestions that AI is the main driver of the current cuts. A governance expert at Swinburne University of Technology has urged the bank to be open about what role the technology plays and what human oversight applies.
The Finance Sector Union has warned that cutting headcount could intensify workloads for those who remain.
Westpac joins in
On Thursday afternoon the union said Westpac had announced it would scrap about 250 roles, accusing it of using the cover of NAB’s announcement. Westpac’s own account is slightly different: it said it announced restructuring plans for 102 roles a fortnight ago and another 140 this week. The union described this time of year as “sacking season”.
ANZ has also carried out a major restructuring, with thousands of job losses over the past year.
Why banks are tightening
The cuts come as banks face a tougher backdrop. House prices fell in every Australian capital city in the September quarter, the first time in 15 years, according to data from Domain. Combined capital city house prices dropped 4.7 percent to about A$1.23 million, the steepest quarterly fall on record, with Perth down 7.4 percent.
Lending growth is weaker, competition is stiffer and operating costs are rising. A rate rise from the Reserve Bank of Australia at its meeting early next month is being treated as a real possibility, which would add further pressure on borrowers.
There are signs of stress in the wider financial system too. MA Financial said on Thursday it is suspending a real estate credit fund, restricting applications and redemptions, citing less certain repayment timings from some borrowers. The firm had already limited redemptions in a larger fund to 1 percent a month in August.
What it means for customers
For customers, the immediate impact is likely to be limited, as the bank says frontline roles will be protected. The risk lies in service quality over time: fewer back-office and project staff can mean slower processing, longer resolution of complaints and more reliance on automated systems.
Customers who notice changes can raise concerns with their bank and, if necessary, with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
What to watch
NAB will release its full-year results on November 5, when investors will look for detail on savings from the restructure and any comment on technology spending. Also watch whether the other major banks follow with announcements of their own. For a sector that has long been among Australia’s biggest private employers, the next few months will show how deeply cost pressure and automation are reshaping it.
