‘Salt to the wound’: Australia’s biggest bank to slash 119 jobs

Over 100 jobs will be axed at Australia's biggest bank as the business embarks on a fresh redundancy spree.

Another wave of cuts are expected at Commonwealth Bank, with 119 jobs set to be slashed, including 43 roles at CBA's online banking subsidiary Bankwest.

Six of the impacted jobs are due to automation, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) said.

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CommBank Commonwealth Bank

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The FSU said this week's job cuts are "adding salt to the wound" after CBA flagged hundreds of jobs would be lost earlier this year.

CBA also cut 45 call centre jobs in 2025 after rolling out an AI chatbot to deal with customer enquiries.

"Still reeling from the 400 job cuts announced mere months ago, CBA employees are now peering down the barrel of another 119 jobs being wiped out, with seemingly no end in sight," FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

"This time, CBA seems intent on hollowing out its frontline services, including mobile lending managers – the very services that make our banking sector human."

A spokesperson for the bank said in a large business it wasn't uncommon for department roles to shift and change.

"Within a workforce of this scale, there is ongoing movement through hiring, internal mobility and recruitment in priority capability areas," A CBA spokesperson said.

"We also regularly review the roles and skills we need to deliver the best customer outcomes. Some roles are shifting, new roles are being created, and some roles are reducing as programs finish, work is simplified and the mix of roles and skills across the bank evolves."

CBA said it employs around 49,000 around Australia and that its workforce grew by 2500 people in 2025.

Commonwealth Bank generics today. Picture by Wayne Taylor 10th August 2025

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A recent survey conducted by the union found that three quarters of CBA's workforce is "unsatisfied" with their job security.

Of those surveyed at Bankwest, the number of unsatisfied employees represented 85 per cent of the workforce.

The FSU said that more than half of employees at both banks considered leaving in the past 12 months because of "workload pressures and insecurity".

"FSU members spoke loud and clear via a recent survey that things are seriously wrong at CBA – 72 per cent of workers are worried about their ongoing job security, with offshoring and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence cited as the primary drivers of uncertainty," Angrisano added.

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