Latest news with #FinanceSectorUnion
ABC News
02-08-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Unions push for AI protections
Rachel Mealey: As the Commonwealth Bank becomes the first in its industry to publicly attribute job cuts to AI, unions are urgently renewing their push for worker protections. That's prompted a sharp rebuke from industry, saying more regulations will restrict productivity and the goal of AI is efficiency, not job cuts. Isabel Moussalli reports. Isabel Moussalli: The Commonwealth Bank isn't the first company to cut jobs in favour of AI, but the Finance Sector Union says it's the first in its industry to acknowledge it. Joseph Mitchell: Well, it's frankly unjust. Commonwealth Bank has made billions of dollars of profit every year for however many years. Isabel Moussalli: Joseph Mitchell is with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. He's angry that 45 roles will be replaced by a customer service chatbot. Joseph Mitchell: And making them redundant by bringing in AI to replace their jobs is just not fair. Isabel Moussalli: A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson says its investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, and its priority is to explore opportunities for redeployment and to support affected employees. But Joseph Mitchell says unions will fight mass redundancies from AI. Joseph Mitchell: So we know the most productive way to implement AI in a workplace is through the skilled application of workers. Workers are trained in how to use it. They can make decisions with employers about how it gets used. Isabel Moussalli: The ACTU will call for AI regulations at the Federal Government's Economic Reform Roundtable next month. Joseph Mitchell: We want to see employers required to enter into AI implementation agreements with their staff. That means that employers need to come to their staff with a plan, negotiate with employees and come to a joint agreement about how they're going to implement AI and what are the consequences going to be, with things like guarantees around job security, training and skills development. Isabel Moussalli: But the Australian Industry Group has hit back. Innes Willox: Well, it's kind of ironic because we go into a productivity summit that we have some proposals here that will restrict further productivity growth. Isabel Moussalli: That's Chief Executive Innes Willocks. Innes Willox: There are going to be times where there has to be significant consultation with the workforce and there's going to be other times when they just can't be in business, just has to get on with it. But all the information that we're getting, everything we're seeing and hearing from business is that they're not setting out to use it as a means to cut jobs on the whole. It's really about how to make their business better. Isabel Moussalli: RMIT's Dr. Emmanuelle Walkowiak is an innovation and labour economist specialising in generative AI. She explains the impact on the workforce can't be precisely forecast, but says right now we're in the middle of a massive disruption to the labour market. Emmanuelle Walkowiak: The major impact is through the transformation of jobs themselves. So what we need is really to upskill people. Isabel Moussalli: In a statement, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth acknowledged AI offers significant opportunities to drive economic growth, but also presents challenges, and says the government's been consulting on introducing safeguards for AI. Rachel Mealey: Isabel Moussalli reporting.
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CBA cuts jobs amid AI chatbot rollout
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced the termination of 45 positions within its call centres following the introduction of an AI chatbot designed to handle customer inquiries. The bank has communicated to the impacted employees that consultations are ongoing regarding the job cuts, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). CBA announced it is investing more than A$2bn ($1.30bn) in its operations, including frontline teams and technology services, which may result in "some roles and work can change," reported Reuters. The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has expressed discontent with the decision, advocating for the retraining of affected workers to transition into new roles that utilise AI technology. The CBA stated that it has recruited more than 9,000 individuals in the past year and currently has approximately 670 vacancies within its retail banking services and frontline teams. CBA spokesperson was quoted by ABC as saying: 'To meet the changing needs of our customers, like many organisations, we review the skills we need and how we're organised to deliver the best customer experiences and outcomes. That means some roles and work can change 'Our priority is to explore opportunities for redeployment and to support affected employees with care, dignity and respect throughout the process.' Last week, the CBA informed the FSU about the job reductions, marking a significant moment as it is reportedly the first instance where a bank has attributed job cuts directly to AI implementation. The bank has dismissed claims that these job losses are linked to offshoring, asserting that it plans to provide reskilling opportunities for those affected. A report from CSIRO indicates that 68% of Australian businesses have adopted AI technologies, leading to a notable shift in customer service roles, with many being replaced by chatbots and virtual assistants. "CBA cuts jobs amid AI chatbot rollout" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
ABC News
29-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Commonwealth Bank replaces dozens of call centre jobs with AI chatbot
One of Australia's largest employers has axed 45 jobs in its customer call centres after rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to deal with customer inquiries. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) confirmed to the ABC that the organisation was consulting the dozens of people impacted by the cuts. "To meet the changing needs of our customers, like many organisations, we review the skills we need and how we're organised to deliver the best customer experiences and outcomes. That means some roles and work can change," a CBA spokesperson said. "Our priority is to explore opportunities for redeployment and to support affected employees with care, dignity and respect throughout the process. This includes access to redeployment options, career transition services, and wellbeing resources." The CBA said it hired more than 9,000 people over the past year and had about 670 open roles across Retail Banking Services and frontline teams. The major bank briefed the Finance Sector Union (FSU) on the recent changes last week, marking the first time a bank had informed the union its job cuts were due to AI. FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said workers affected by the "outrageous move" should be retrained and supported into new roles that leverage AI technology. "Just when we think CBA can't sink any lower, they start cutting jobs because of AI on top of sneakily offshoring work to India," she said. "Workers want a tech-savvy bank, but they expect to be part of the change, not replaced by it." The CBA rejected the allegation that jobs were being sent offshore and suggested redundant staff would be re-skilled. "We're also proactively creating new roles to support career growth and help our people transition into future-fit opportunities," a CBA spokesperson said. "Our investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres. By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience. "Recognising that the work context is evolving, and based on individual situations, many of our people have taken up the upskilling and reskilling pathways made available for them to continue their careers at the bank and build capabilities for future opportunities." According to a CSIRO report, 68 per cent of Australian businesses have already implemented AI technologies, with many customer service jobs being replaced with chatbots and virtual assistants. Some economists say AI is also creating jobs at an unprecedented rate, but not always for the people in the firing line. The latest row between the FSU and CBA follows the union taking the major bank to the Fair Work Commission for allegedly breaching a contract by outsourcing hundreds of jobs to India. In response to the CBA denying it is offshoring jobs, Ms Angrisano doubled down on the union's allegations. "The CBA never publicly acknowledged that they are offshoring jobs, even when we've presented clear evidence," she said. "The truth is they are cutting customer specialist roles in Australia while employing people in India doing the same work. This round of redundancies includes customer specialist roles and we have every reason to believe they are sneakily offshoring those jobs." In February, the CBA reported a 6 per cent increase in net profit, with a half-year result of $5.1 billion.
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian lender CBA to cut 45 jobs in AI shift, draws union backlash
(Reuters) -Commonwealth Bank of Australia confirmed on Tuesday it is cutting 45 jobs as part of a shift toward using artificial intelligence to handle certain tasks, prompting a union to accuse the bank of excluding workers from the evolving economy. CBA, the country's biggest lender, said it is currently investing more than A$2 billion ($1.30 billion) in its operations, including frontline teams and technology services, due to which "some roles and work can change". Australia's Finance Sector Union (FSU) has accused CBA of axing frontline roles in favour of automation and offshoring. In a statement, the union claimed that a total of 90 roles were being eliminated, including 45 positions in the bank's direct banking system. According to the FSU, these jobs were cut following the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank's inbound customer enquiries line in June. "We're also proactively creating new roles to support career growth and help our people transition into future-fit opportunities," CBA said. The bank said it is consulting on the affected roles and looking at other internal jobs and reskilling opportunities for its people, while it denied offshoring jobs as per the FSU's claim. ($1 = 1.5328 Australian dollars) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian lender CBA to cut 45 jobs in AI shift, draws union backlash
(Reuters) -Commonwealth Bank of Australia confirmed on Tuesday it is cutting 45 jobs as part of a shift toward using artificial intelligence to handle certain tasks, prompting a union to accuse the bank of excluding workers from the evolving economy. CBA, the country's biggest lender, said it is currently investing more than A$2 billion ($1.30 billion) in its operations, including frontline teams and technology services, due to which "some roles and work can change". Australia's Finance Sector Union (FSU) has accused CBA of axing frontline roles in favour of automation and offshoring. In a statement, the union claimed that a total of 90 roles were being eliminated, including 45 positions in the bank's direct banking system. According to the FSU, these jobs were cut following the introduction of a new voice bot system on the bank's inbound customer enquiries line in June. "We're also proactively creating new roles to support career growth and help our people transition into future-fit opportunities," CBA said. The bank said it is consulting on the affected roles and looking at other internal jobs and reskilling opportunities for its people, while it denied offshoring jobs as per the FSU's claim. ($1 = 1.5328 Australian dollars)
