Bank replaces customer service call workers with artificial intelligence
A total of 90 jobs were axed at the Commonwealth Bank, including 45 roles in direct banking, due to the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank's inbound customer enquiries line.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson confirmed the job losses to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"Our investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres," the spokesperson said.
"By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience."
The CBA spokesperson said the priority was to "explore opportunities for redeployment" for affected staff and to support employees with "care, dignity and respect".
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano criticised the job cuts, saying workers want a tech-savvy bank, but "they expect to be part of the change, not replaced by it".
"Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI," Ms Angrisano said.
"Yet rather than invest in its people, the CBA is simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring.
"If this is what CEO Matt Comyn calls productivity, we're seriously concerned about his place at the national productivity roundtable.
"His carefully curated commitment to policy reform in Australia just looks like hollow PR when acts like this expose that his real agenda is just more profit for shareholders."
READ MORE: 'Very angry, what's next?': Bendigo Bank to shutter services across regional Australia
Australia's biggest bank has cut jobs in its customer call centres in favour of an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that will answer customer inquiries.
A total of 90 jobs were axed at the Commonwealth Bank, including 45 roles in direct banking, due to the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank's inbound customer enquiries line.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson confirmed the job losses to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"Our investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres," the spokesperson said.
"By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience."
The CBA spokesperson said the priority was to "explore opportunities for redeployment" for affected staff and to support employees with "care, dignity and respect".
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano criticised the job cuts, saying workers want a tech-savvy bank, but "they expect to be part of the change, not replaced by it".
"Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI," Ms Angrisano said.
"Yet rather than invest in its people, the CBA is simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring.
"If this is what CEO Matt Comyn calls productivity, we're seriously concerned about his place at the national productivity roundtable.
"His carefully curated commitment to policy reform in Australia just looks like hollow PR when acts like this expose that his real agenda is just more profit for shareholders."
READ MORE: 'Very angry, what's next?': Bendigo Bank to shutter services across regional Australia
Australia's biggest bank has cut jobs in its customer call centres in favour of an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that will answer customer inquiries.
A total of 90 jobs were axed at the Commonwealth Bank, including 45 roles in direct banking, due to the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank's inbound customer enquiries line.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson confirmed the job losses to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"Our investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres," the spokesperson said.
"By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience."
The CBA spokesperson said the priority was to "explore opportunities for redeployment" for affected staff and to support employees with "care, dignity and respect".
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano criticised the job cuts, saying workers want a tech-savvy bank, but "they expect to be part of the change, not replaced by it".
"Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI," Ms Angrisano said.
"Yet rather than invest in its people, the CBA is simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring.
"If this is what CEO Matt Comyn calls productivity, we're seriously concerned about his place at the national productivity roundtable.
"His carefully curated commitment to policy reform in Australia just looks like hollow PR when acts like this expose that his real agenda is just more profit for shareholders."
READ MORE: 'Very angry, what's next?': Bendigo Bank to shutter services across regional Australia
Australia's biggest bank has cut jobs in its customer call centres in favour of an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that will answer customer inquiries.
A total of 90 jobs were axed at the Commonwealth Bank, including 45 roles in direct banking, due to the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank's inbound customer enquiries line.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson confirmed the job losses to ACM, the publisher of this masthead.
"Our investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres," the spokesperson said.
"By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience."
The CBA spokesperson said the priority was to "explore opportunities for redeployment" for affected staff and to support employees with "care, dignity and respect".
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano criticised the job cuts, saying workers want a tech-savvy bank, but "they expect to be part of the change, not replaced by it".
"Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI," Ms Angrisano said.
"Yet rather than invest in its people, the CBA is simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring.
"If this is what CEO Matt Comyn calls productivity, we're seriously concerned about his place at the national productivity roundtable.
"His carefully curated commitment to policy reform in Australia just looks like hollow PR when acts like this expose that his real agenda is just more profit for shareholders."
READ MORE: 'Very angry, what's next?': Bendigo Bank to shutter services across regional Australia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
9 News
3 minutes ago
- 9 News
The crucial factor that could soon cost every Aussie $14,000 a year
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Productivity: it's the crucial economic principle that has helped propel Australians into some of the best living standards in the world. But even as politicians and economists discuss it more and more, ahead of the federal government's crucial upcoming roundtable, it's something that many people still don't quite understand. So what actually is productivity, and why are experts so concerned with it at the moment? This is what you need to know. Productivity has driven the massive improvement in Australian living standards since mid-last century. (Edwina Pickles/SMH) Think of productivity as working smarter, not harder. Economically speaking, productivity is the amount of output you get from a set of inputs. Inputs are things like labour – often measured as the number of employees or number of hours worked – and capital, while output is the amount of goods and services produced. For a basic example, let's say a fast food outlet employs five staff, who work a combined 200 hours per week, and produces 5000 burgers over the course of that week. Its productivity would be 25 burgers per hour worked. So, put super simply, productivity is how much stuff you get from a set amount of effort. Productivity growth has been slowing in Australia and most other advanced economies. (Louie Douvis/AFR) Productivity itself isn't falling, but productivity growth is most certainly on the decline in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) main, top-line measure of productivity growth has fallen substantially in recent years. In 2022-23, the 20-year average annual growth rate had fallen to 0.9 per cent, down from 1.2 per cent the year before and just half of the 1.8 per cent it was in 2003-04. It's important to note this problem isn't unique to Australia; just about every developed country is experiencing slowing productivity. Improved productivity is responsible for Australians' improved living standards. It leads to higher wages, more (and cheaper and better-quality) goods and services available, bigger profits for businesses, and overall economic growth. It also even paves the way for more leisure time; according to the Productivity Commission, the average Australian now spends five fewer hours at work every week than in 1960 due to better productivity. But if growth continues to slow, it puts all those benefits at risk. Improved productivity has allowed companies to produce more goods that are both cheaper and better quality. (Getty) To put a dollar figure on it, the Productivity Commission estimates that full-time workers will be $14,000 a year worse off by 2035 if Australia can't rediscover its previous growth and instead continues on its current trend. "The implications of that, I think, are already being felt," RBA Governor Michele Bullock said on August 12. "Real wages are not rising by very much, because that's the implication of slow productivity growth is that real wages can't grow as quickly. "If we can get productivity growth up, that will allow for more growth in real wages, which is ultimately good for Australians." Artificial intelligence has been touted as a potential productivity gamechanger. (Getty) While economists have been discussing productivity for decades – the Productivity Commission was established in the late '90s – a few developments have thrust it very firmly into the public eye. That came a week out from the federal government's productivity roundtable (officially the Economic Reform Roundtable), which was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock has warned Australians are already feeling the pinch of slowing productivity growth. (Dominic Lorrimer) The roundtable, to be held from August 19-21 in Canberra, will be a three-day discussion involving business and union leaders about how to address stagnating productivity growth. Many of the ideas put forward ahead of the summit have focused on tax (although AI, regulation, and even a four-day working week have also been discussed), following these comments made by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in June. "No sensible progress can be made on productivity, resilience or budget sustainability without proper consideration of more tax reform," he told the National Press Club. "I don't just accept that, I welcome it. Tax is one of many ways our three primary economic challenges are related." Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged the economic roundtable could lead to tax reform. (Rohan Thomson/AFR) That's the trillion-dollar question. Albanese has been giving mixed messages, at one point ruling out any new tax reform ("the only tax policy that we're implementing is the one that we took to the election") and reminding everyone that he and his ministers get final say on any productivity solutions ("governments make government policy"). But the prime minister has also welcomed the glut of proposals he and Chalmers have been presented with, and has insisted he's "up for big reform" – although it might be something he takes to the next election in 2028. "We're up for discussion, and one of the things I said very clearly was we weren't going to get into the rule-in, rule-out game," he told ABC radio. "We have a big agenda. We were elected with a clear mandate on May 3. That's our priority, delivering on that. "But we're also up for ideas and we're up for things that can be done immediately. If they will improve the economy, then of course we'll give it consideration." Anthony Albanese has ruled out any new tax reform but at the same time said he's open to big ideas. (James Brickwood) Respected economist Richard Holden, who along with independent MP Kate Chaney proposed a revised GST model for the roundtable , said it was crucial that proper reform does come out of the summit. "That's the question: is the upcoming August 19 roundtable going to be a moment for genuinely thinking about bold ideas?" he said. "Or is it going to be another one of these pro-forma... we have three days, we'll put out a press release and we go back to normal? "I hope it's the former." CONTACT US Property News: Rubbish-strewn house overtaken by mould asks $1.2 million.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
We've worked hard, got an education, found jobs. But it's not enough
Younger Australians have done what society told us to do. We've worked hard, got an education, and found jobs. Yet, that has not been enough for teachers, nurses, mechanics and countless other workers to achieve financial security. The social contract, the idea that a job is enough to feed and house a family, has been lost. A recent episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast highlighted a vital debate we need to have. It featured rockstar British economist Gary Stevenson and Daniel Priestley, an acclaimed Australian serial entrepreneur. The host, Steven Bartlett, asked both men what advice they would give to young people. Priestley suggested that we focus on entrepreneurship, as the digital economy offers incredible opportunities to create wealth. Stevenson disagreed, arguing that this advice is harmful because, if you can't get ahead, then it must be your fault. Instead, the economic problems we face are structural. Without reforming how our economy works, Stevenson argued, financial and business advice is like giving out stock tips on the Titanic. The most common story we do hear is the one promoted by Priestley, about individual financial success. It's pushed by social media finfluencers, tech bros, and self-help gurus who claim that the pathway to economic security is through speculative property investing, starting a dropshipping business, or investing in the latest cryptocurrency. Movements like 'girlboss' and 'quiet quitting' have sent the message that you have to save yourself in these tough economic times. The key to the social contract working, in whatever form, is that people feel their efforts are rewarded and that they believe the contract is fair. The contract, then, is hanging by a thread. The cultural dominance of individualism, however, perpetuates an economic system that is harming us. It means that avenues for collective action, such as union membership, political party involvement, and volunteering, are in decline. Policy debates pit winners against losers without considering what's best for everyone, and the government and its tax and transfer system are cast as a 'burden'. Loading In contrast, the postwar version of the social contract promoted the idea that, in return for contributing through work, care, and paying taxes, individuals had rights to essentials such as healthcare, housing, and employment security. You could find a stable job paying enough to feed and house your family, retire with a pension, and be assured that your children would have it better. A second version of the social contract was adopted in the 1980s and 1990s. It presented a more individualistic vision aimed at removing the 'shackles' of taxation and regulation. Tax rates on the wealthy were reduced, public services privatised and superannuation introduced to prioritise individual responsibility and private wealth accumulation.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Amazon launches its own ‘trusted' version of Temu in Australia. Here's what we know
'Consumers are increasingly looking for value; price is biggest driver of where consumers are shopping, coupled with an increased focus on discounts, researching online and deferring unnecessary purchases,' wrote respected retail analyst Ben Gilbert in a joint white paper with Shippit. 'We found a third of respondents' delivery expectations lifted in the past 12 months as a direct result of Amazon/Temu/Shein.' Retail consultant Trent Rigby said Haul's key differentiator would be fulfilment. 'Temu, Shein and Ali typically ship directly from Chinese manufacturers, whereas Amazon can leverage its established fulfilment infrastructure. That means Haul could, in theory, offer faster delivery, better customer service [although they're getting better, these Chinese marketplaces generally have pretty woeful customer service] and stronger product guarantees – addressing three major pain points for consumers with these low-cost marketplaces,' he said. Haul is Amazon's bid to capture the budget-conscious, younger customers who have flocked to Temu and Shein – if they get the experience right, he said. Loading 'The challenge will be matching the rock-bottom prices of these rivals while maintaining the delivery speed and trust that consumers expect from Amazon.' Temu was named by customer spending analytics platform Fonto as Australia's fastest-growing consumer retail brand for the 2025 financial year, winning more than 1.3 million new customers across the year. Cost of living pressures have also helped Shein and Temu capture greater market share in Australia, where 3.8 million customers have tried Temu at least once and 2 million customers have bought from Shein, according to Roy Morgan data. Together, Temu and Shein are expected to surpass $3 billion in sales. Coles and Woolworths have become increasingly threatened by Amazon's aggressive expansion. During the ACCC's supermarket inquiry, Coles chief Leah Weckert said the US giant was 'quite disruptive to our business model', while Woolworths chief Amanda Bardwell said Amazon now covered 40 per cent of what the supermarket sold. Gilbert described Amazon as a 'force to be reckoned with in Australia' and 'growing faster than we thought'. 'We estimate Amazon Australia, by gross merchandise value, is now larger than Accent Group, The Reject Shop, Beacon Lighting Group, Temple & Webster, Premier Investments and Universal Store combined,' Gilbert wrote in a note to clients issued in March last year. What's the catch? Australians will only be able to access Haul through the Amazon app – and only some customers will see the new feature, which is still in the beta phase and will be rolled out to remaining customers 'in coming days', the company said in a press release. Haul is not available on Amazon's website in any country. Amazon Haul was launched in November last year in the US, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. To lure customers in, Amazon is adding a 60 per cent discount on all Haul items that will be applied at checkout for the first two weeks. But don't expect next-day delivery; since the products are being shipped from overseas, your Amazon Prime subscription will be useless as deliveries are slated to arrive 'in two weeks or less'. 'The products on offer via Amazon Haul are manufactured and shipped from abroad and sold by Amazon,' said Henley.
