April 28, 2026, 06:09 AEST, Sydney.
- Commonwealth Bank is set to shed another 119 positions—43 of them at Bankwest—as the bank’s moves with artificial intelligence keep attracting union attention.
- Regional banking is back in the political spotlight, as smaller lenders urge the big banks to chip in for in-person services.
- CBA slipped on Monday, lagging NAB, as the broader Australian market also lost ground.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia is pushing through another round of layoffs, axing 119 positions as the country’s biggest lender doubles down on artificial intelligence, automation, and digital banking. Of those, 43 roles are going at Bankwest, its Western Australia-based subsidiary, according to the Finance Sector Union.
Timing’s key here. CBA wants to convince investors it can tap AI—software that speeds up decision-making or automates routine tasks—to drive up efficiency, but without sacrificing customer service or fanning staff anxiety into something bigger with unions. Back in February, the bank rolled out its A$90 million, three-year Future Workforce Program. The goal: pinpoint roles, spot skill gaps, and retrain employees for jobs that’ll shift as AI becomes more widespread.
Bank access outside the major metro areas is making headlines again. The Regional Banking Investment Alliance, which speaks for regional lenders, is urging CBA, Westpac, NAB, and ANZ to chip in for in-person banking in rural communities. The group’s pitch: a community service obligation—industry-funded—to support branch services, with the subsidy pegged at about A$153 million, or 0.17% of the big four’s operating income.
The union pointed to CBA’s Home Buying, Product Pricing and Analytics, Risk, and Group Strategy divisions as areas hit by the changes, noting that automation impacted “half a dozen” positions. Over at Bankwest, most of the cuts are set to hit mobile lending managers—the people who guide customers through home loan applications. Finance Sector Union
FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said another 119 jobs are on the chopping block at CBA, adding to previous cuts. She accused the bank of stripping back frontline roles. The union pointed to its survey, which found nearly three-quarters of CBA staff and 85% of Bankwest employees dissatisfied with job security.
CBA isn’t buying the narrative that it’s just downsizing. According to a spokesperson, the bank employs roughly 49,000 people right now, with headcount up by about 2,500 over the year to June 2025. “Some roles are shifting,” the spokesperson said, pointing to program completions and evolving skill requirements. News
Chief Executive Matt Comyn insists the bank’s workforce plan is about giving staff “transparency and opportunity”—not simply trimming expenses. CBA reports over 30,000 employees have completed AI-related training, with roughly 5,000 people shifting to new roles within the bank in the past year. CommBank
CBA is rolling out AI deeper into its main operations. Back on April 24, the bank announced it had switched on what it calls an “agentic AI” fraud system—a setup that flags suspicious activity and proposes fresh detection rules, though any changes still need a human sign-off. James Roberts, who heads up fraud and scams at CBA, said the upgrade boosts response times against emerging threats. The bank’s systems now scan over 80 million signals daily, according to CBA. CommBank
Investors are juggling cost pressures, service demands, and growth prospects. On Monday, CBA dropped 0.81% to finish at A$173.08, with the S&P/ASX 200 easing 0.23%. ANZ and Westpac also lost ground, but NAB edged up 0.3%.
CBA’s profit engine still looks robust. The bank logged a record first-half cash profit of A$5.45 billion back in February, as it picked up ground across home and business loans, and pulled in more deposits. Costs climbed 5%—notably, tech infrastructure outlays, which jumped 10%, in part due to generative AI initiatives. Michael Haynes, investment analyst at Atlas Funds Management, told Reuters the profit result came down to business banking momentum and what he called “operational excellence” on the mortgage front. Reuters
Competition isn’t letting up. NAB, also one of the Big Four, has set up an AI Science team led by George Mathews, reporting in to chief AI officer Mahya Knox—recently hired from CBA—as the scramble to develop internal AI expertise heats up amid strict oversight. Pete Steel, an executive at NAB, likened the impact of AI on jobs to what played out during the industrial era and the rise of the internet.
CBA’s risk is obvious: push automation too far into frontline roles and cost savings could be offset by blowback from unions, politicians, or customers. Last year, Reuters flagged union criticism after the bank’s AI-driven job cuts, with CBA acknowledging at the time that as it poured over A$2 billion into tech and operations, some jobs and tasks could shift.
