Bombshell News Rocks ANZ Bank: 3,500 Jobs Axed in Brutal Restructure to “Simplify” Operations and Slash Costs
- ANZ Bank announces devastating job cuts, with 3,500 positions to be axed over the next 12 months
- Chief executive Nuno Matos claims the restructure is aimed at simplifying the bank and reducing duplicate roles
- Union leaders slam the move, accusing the bank of “betraying” workers to chase bigger profits
ANZ Bank has dropped a bombshell, revealing plans to axe an astonishing 3,500 jobs over the next year in a bid to “simplify” operations and slash costs.
The drastic move, announced on Tuesday morning, will also see around 1,000 contractors let go as part of the bank’s broader restructure. According to Nuno Matos, CEO of ANZ, the cuts are aimed at eliminating “duplication and internal complexity” within the organisation.
“We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff,” Matos said in a statement. “While some of these changes have already commenced, we are committed to working through the impacts as quickly and safely as we can, with both care and respect for our teams affected.”
But union leaders have slammed the move, accusing the bank of “betraying” workers to chase even bigger profits. Wendy Streets, president of the Finance Sector Union (FSU), said the job cuts were “out of control” and “not a strategy, but chaos”.
“When the FSU asked ANZ who will actually do the work of the 3,500 sacked staff, the bank had no answer, except to say the work will simply stop,” Streets said in a scathing statement.
The restructure comes as ANZ undergoes an ongoing review of its operations, following the appointment of Matos as CEO in May. The bank is set to provide a strategy update to investors on October 13, ahead of its financial results in November.
In recent weeks, ANZ has faced criticism over automated redundancy emails sent to staff, which Matos described as “indefensible and deeply disappointing”. The bank will book restructuring charges of around $560 million, before tax, as a result of the job cuts.