By Shumi Akhtar
Copyright brisbanetimes
Australia’s banking sector has just offered a glimpse into the future of work – and it’s a future many employees will find unsettling. ANZ’s decision to cut 3500 jobs and 1000 contractors, followed by NAB’s move to slash 410 roles and shift more work offshore, is not simply another round of cost-cutting. It is a signal of how artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation are reshaping the labour market with extraordinary speed and precision.
For ANZ, the restructure under new chief executive Nuno Matos is framed as a bid for efficiency and competitiveness. But beneath the corporate language lies a reality: automation and AI are hollowing out roles once considered secure. Back-office operations, compliance reporting and customer service functions are increasingly being run by machines rather than people. NAB’s restructuring reinforces the trend, moving technology roles to India and Vietnam where labour is cheaper, while AI and digital platforms reduce the need for large support teams in Australia.
The result is a labour market undergoing what economists call “polarisation”. High-value roles in strategy, leadership and advanced data science remain firmly in place. Low-cost, offshore jobs pick up some of the slack. But the middle – clerical workers, operations staff and mid-level technicians and administrators – is shrinking at an alarming rate. These are precisely the roles that have long underpinned Australia’s middle class, offering stable employment and clear career progression.
What is happening in banking is not unique. Across industries, employers are experimenting with AI tools that streamline processes, reduce error rates and cut costs. In insurance, AI tools are already handling claims processing with greater accuracy than human staff. Retail giants are trialling AI-driven inventory and logistics platforms that can eliminate entire categories of warehouse roles. Even in healthcare, AI is beginning to take on diagnostic tasks once considered the sole domain of specialists.
