National Australia Bank cuts 410 jobs, moves positions to India and Vietnam

National Australia Bank (NAB) said it is laying off more than 400 employees from its technology and enterprise operations in Australia and moving some of the positions to India and Vietnam, marking the second major redundancy decision in Australia’s financial sector in recent days.

The announcement came a day after rival ANZ Group said it would make 3,500 jobs redundant over the next 12 months as new CEO Buno Matos seeks to simplify the bank’s structure. 

A NAB spokesman said the cuts will affect a total of 410 full-time positions, with 127 positions moved overseas.

“While some roles are no longer required or may move location, we are also creating new roles across all locations as necessary. Like many businesses, we regularly look at the way we work and how we’re structured to deliver the best experience we can for our customers,” he said, adding the bank is planning to add separate technology roles in Australia.

NAB’s major competitors, namely Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac, and Macquarie Bank, all have operations in India. The lenders are also reportedly experimenting with the use of artificial intelligence, with CBA saying it will replace some positions with an AI ‘voice bot’ only to retract its decision in August.

The layoffs were criticised by Australia’s Finance Sector Union, describing the decision of Australia’s two largest banks to announce layoffs within two days as ‘shameful’..

“This isn’t one rogue bank, it’s the whole sector driving the same agenda at the expense of workers and communities,” said union president Wendy Streets. “One after the other, banks are swinging the axe. These cuts are destructive to the people who make the banks’ success possible.”

The cuts come as the country’s banking sector faces sluggish growth and lower lending margins. In a memo earlier this week, Citi analyst Thomas Strong said he expects a flat earnings outlook for the major banks this financial year.

“Competition appears quite rational between the majors across the board, albeit there remains some quite sharp pricing in particular segments,” he said. “On the whole, it appears that the sector is cognizant of revenue headwinds and is moving to lift profitability.”