Hundreds of full-time jobs to go or be relocated to India and Vietnam
The decision, confirmed on Tuesday, will see 410 full-time jobs cut in NAB’s technology and enterprise operations division, with another 127 positions relocated to India and Vietnam.
The restructure mirrors ANZ’s decision, disclosed just a day earlier, to shed 3,500 staff and wind back external contracting arrangements. It also highlights an industry under intensifying pressure to lift efficiency and contain rising costs, even as the major banks continue to post multi-billion-dollar profits.
Offshore shift accelerates
NAB intends to continue hiring in lower-cost centres overseas, arguing that a global workforce provides the ability to service customers across different time zones.
A spokesman said: “While some roles are no longer required or may move location, we are also creating new roles across all locations as necessary. Like many businesses, we regularly look at the way we work and how we’re structured to deliver the best experience we can for our customers.”
The spokesman added that international hubs allow NAB to “extend hours of operation, speeding up processes and improving turnaround times for customers”.
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and Macquarie already run sizeable operations in India, underscoring the sector-wide reliance on global resourcing.
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has condemned both NAB and ANZ, accusing the banks of pursuing a “slash and shift” strategy that undermines local jobs.
FSU president Wendy Streets said: “Two banks in two days slashing jobs, it’s shameful. This isn’t one rogue bank, it’s the whole sector driving the same agenda at the expense of workers and communities.”
“Cuts this deep don’t just hurt staff, they hollow out services for customers and communities who rely on NAB. These cuts are destructive to the people who make the banks’ success possible.”
The union has pledged to resist the measures, warning that secure employment is being steadily replaced with offshoring and automation.
These cuts come as NAB deals with mounting expenses tied to a payroll remediation program. Last month the bank told investors it expected operating costs to rise by $130 million this financial year due to staff underpayments, on top of the $250 million already spent between 2020 and 2022 on payroll issues.
Read more: NAB increases loan book, $130 million set aside to address payroll blunder
ANZ, meanwhile, is managing its own reputational challenges after some employees learned of job losses via automated emails or through media reports.
Chief executive Nuno Matos apologised for the handling of the earlier redundancies but pressed ahead with the new downsizing plan, which will reduce his workforce by about 8 per cent over the next year.
For brokers and mortgage professionals, the staffing upheaval raises questions about service continuity, particularly in loan processing and turnaround times.
While NAB argues its offshore strategy will enhance responsiveness, industry participants will be watching closely to see whether customer outcomes match the rhetoric.
Both NAB and ANZ emphasised that some new roles are being created alongside the job cuts. But the net effect is a shrinking domestic workforce across the two Melbourne-based banks, which together employ about 80,000 people in Australia.
With global interest rates stabilising but competition for deposits and mortgages remaining fierce, Australia’s banks are under pressure to balance cost control with customer service.
For now, the sharp end of that balancing act is being felt by staff – and the communities they serve.
As the FSU’s Streets put it: “This isn’t one rogue bank, it’s the whole sector driving the same agenda.”
For mortgage professionals, the lesson is clear: staffing cuts may ease shareholder concerns in the short term, but the true test will be whether the service networks that underpin Australia’s $2 trillion home loan market can withstand the strain.
