NAB makes cuts to technology and enterprise operations division

NAB is set to cut 410 “roles” in its technology and enterprise operations division, becoming the second of the so-called big four banks to reduce the size of its technology workforce.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said the reduction would impact “728 workers”.

It wasn’t immediately clear which teams would be impacted, but it’s understood that the bank informed affected employees yesterday.

A NAB spokesperson confirmed the cuts, citing a “constantly changing” operating environment as one of its challenges.

“We need to have the right structures alongside the right skills and capabilities in the right locations to help us deliver for our customers,” the spokesperson said.

“These decisions are always difficult, and we understand the impact they can have on our colleagues.

“While some roles are no longer required or may move location, we are also creating new roles across all locations as necessary, to ensure we are set up for success and can deliver better outcomes.”

The union said that “at the same time” as cutting staff in Australia, “the bank intends to establish 127 new roles in India and Vietnam”, which host technology-related hubs for NAB.

NAB’s spokesperson countered that its operating model of “having a global workforce” benefitted the bank, “helping us generate better outcomes for customers in a number of ways: leveraging global time zones to extend our hours of operation, speeding up processes and improving turnaround times for our customers.”

Fellow big four bank ANZ yesterday said it would cut 3500 staff and 1000 contractors, with technology one of the divisions impacted.