Yahoo Finance Commonwealth Bank slammed for axing 224 jobs: 'Obscene'
CBA workers across the country will be impacted by the layoffs.
Commonwealth Bank has been blasted for reportedly cutting 224 jobs across Australia while reporting record profits.
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said it had been notified by CBA that it would cut 158 jobs from its operations and technology departments, 38 jobs in its venture capital unit, 25 jobs in financial-services and risk-management, and three in global markets.
FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano slammed the cuts and said the major bank should have maintained staff numbers in light of its recent $5.15 billion half-year profit.
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“This is nothing but a naked grab for profits at the expense of bank workers who have kept the CBA functioning during the pandemic and the post-pandemic economic restart,” Angrisano said.
“These are workers who are contributing to the record profits being made by the CBA and yet, the bank responds by pushing them out the door.”
Angrisano said CBA was putting “profits before people” and labeled the cuts “an obscene and immoral decision, which staff at the CBA don’t deserve”.
According to the FSU, the majority of jobs will be lost in New South Wales with 197 redundancies, followed by 16 in Western Australia, nine in Victoria, five in Queensland and one in South Australia.
No confirmation from CBA
Commonwealth Bank would not confirm any of the numbers released by the FSU and said there were no changes to its fraud and scams teams.
The major bank said it had specifically increased the number of people working there in the past two quarters.
“To support the continuous improvement of our customers’ experience, we regularly review the skills we need and how we’re organised. That means, from time to time, some roles and work will change or no longer be required,” a CBA spokesperson said.
“Where that happens, we will endeavour to find other roles for the people affected, although that’s not always possible. Such decisions are never easy nor are taken lightly. In those cases, we work closely with our people to provide career-transition support.”
CBA said it employed around 52,000 people across Australia and internationally, and had recruited more than 10,000 people since 2021.
CBA shutters 13 branches
According to the FSU, CBA has axed 13 bank branches so far this year. The major bank notified the FSU it would close branches in Bull Creek in Perth and Aspley in Brisbane in June, with the loss of 12 jobs.
CBA has committed to pausing regional bank closures while a senate inquiry into the issue is underway.
A recent Yahoo Finance poll found Aussies were still visiting physical branches to do their banking. The poll of more than 400 people, found 56 per cent were going to branches, while 16 per cent were banking online only. Around a quarter (28 per cent) said they did physical banking sometimes.
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