(20 October 2026 – Australia) As part of a major restructure NAB is set to eliminate 2,500 internal roles targeting corporate functions and senior management, or six percent of its total full time employment (FTE) workforce,
The bank positioned the overhaul as a reassessment of the skills and organisational structure needed to pursue its ambitions while highlighting business banking, deposits and its proprietary mortgage channel as key investment priorities.
Staff have accused the bank of a “spill and fill” redundancy strategy forcing entire teams to reapply for their positions with serious concerns about offshoring as the group increases Indian and Vietnamese headcount.
“NAB is implementing these changes as part of a broader review to identify the nature of the workforce required to support NAB’s strategic ambition in an evolving operating environment. These actions will help to make NAB a stronger bank, better placed to navigate risks and opportunities arising from more challenging economic conditions, increasing customer expectations, competitive intensity and rapid technological change” the bank said in a statement to the ASX.
“Cutting six percent of a workforce will not ‘simplify’ NAB’s operating model or ‘better align its workforce to prioritise growth’. It will wreak chaos and entrench a culture of anxiety at a bank that seems hell bent on self-destruction” the Finance Sector Union (FSU) declared.
While there was no direct reference to AI, NAB did refer to “rapid technological change” in its announcement to the market.
“For a long time it was politically unacceptable to essentially replace people with AI. We’re probably approaching the point where it becomes more politically palatable to actually shed staff than perhaps it was even six months ago. Technology will supplant a lot of functions at jobs. You can just do things better and faster” commented MST Financial Analyst Brian Johnson.
NAB will provide further detail on its FY26/27 cost outlook when it releases full year results on 5 November.