SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES – Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is facing criticism from the Finance Sector Union (FSU) after announcing plans to replace 45 jobs in its call centre with artificial intelligence (AI).
The move marks the first time a bank has informed the union that job cuts are due to AI.
The affected roles will be replaced by a new voice bot system designed to handle customer enquiries.
In addition, another 45 jobs will be offshored to CBA India, where the bank is currently advertising for customer messaging roles, according to the FSU.
The FSU’s national secretary, Julia Angrisano, has expressed outrage over the decision, stating that workers expect to be part of the technological change, not replaced by it.
“Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI,” Ms Angrisano said.
“Yet rather than invest in its people, the CBA are simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring.”
The union has raised concerns that the change will negatively impact Aussie customers, who may receive a poorer service due to CBA’s job cuts.
“There is a human cost to this,” Ms Angrisano said.
“You can’t just replace frontline jobs with a voice bot and expect the same service for customers.”
In response to the criticism, a CBA spokesperson stated that the bank’s investment in AI is “making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres.”
The spokesperson added that by automating simple queries, human workers can focus on more complex customer queries that require empathy and experience.
The bank is exploring opportunities for redeployment for employees impacted by the job cuts and has made upskilling and reskilling pathways available for them to continue their careers at the bank.
The latest controversy follows a series of disputes between the FSU and CBA, including the union taking the bank to the Fair Work Commission for allegedly breaching a contract by outsourcing hundreds of jobs to India.