The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has responded to criticism from the Finance Sector Union (FSU), which accused the bank of cutting hundreds of jobs.
According to the FSU, Commonwealth Bank has cut 224 jobs at a time when the bank is making record profits and should instead have kept the number of employees. The union calls for labor guarantees for Commonwealth Bank staff in the forthcoming negotiations of the Company Agreement.
FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano said the bank’s decision to cut jobs is a “blatant appropriation of profits at the expense of the bank workers who have kept the CBA running during the pandemic and economic reset.” post-pandemic”.
He further noted that the bank has seen net interest income increase by 19 percent, but that this was not enough for the CBA.
“The CBA has seen net interest income increase 19 percent as mortgage interest rates have gone up, but that’s not enough for this bank,” he said.
“The CBA consistently puts profits before people, and in this case, we know these jobs are being eliminated to increase profits. It is an obscene and immoral decision that the CBA staff does not deserve.”
The job cuts are expected to come from Operations and Technology, the online application company Cheddar, Financial Services and Risk Management, and Global Markets.
According to the union, the most jobs will be lost in NSW, with 197 redundancies, followed by nine in Victoria, 16 in WA, five in Qld and one job in SA.
Ms. Angrisano also expressed concern about the bank’s decision to outsource 18 jobs, as well as its decision to close 13 branches this year. She argued that these closings and layoffs would force the remaining staff to work longer and longer hours to cover the work done by the laid off workers.
The FSU has also called on the CBA to stop offshoring Australian jobs to India and to stop forced redundancies and branch closures.
He stated that job security is a key issue for his members in the CBA, and he will press the bank to do more to ensure job security in the upcoming negotiations.
Ms. Angrisano claimed that the bank also cut jobs in its financial crime area. However, this claim was disputed by a Commonwealth Bank spokesperson, who said that “there are no changes to these teams.”
Commonwealth Bank did not comment on the exact number of jobs that will be cut.
“CBA employs around 52,000 people in Australia and internationally and since 2021 we have hired over 10,000 people, reinforcing our position as one of Australia’s largest employers,” read a statement provided to news.com.au.
“To support the continuous improvement of our customer experience, we regularly review the skills we need and how we are organized. That means that from time to time, some roles and jobs will change or are no longer needed.
“When that happens, we will strive to find other roles for those affected, although that is not always possible. Such decisions are never easy or taken lightly. In those cases, we work closely with our people to provide career transition support.”