The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has reversed its decision to lay off 45 employees following an “error” in initial assessments.
The CBA confirmed to HRD it has provided impacted employees the choice of continuing their current roles in the bank.
They were also offered redeployment opportunities within CBA or the option to leave the organisation.
It was reported last month that the bank was eliminating 45 roles following the introduction of a new voice bot system.
But the bank said it made an error in its initial assessment.
“CBA’s initial assessment that the 45 roles in our Customer Service Direct business were not required did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations and this error meant the roles were not redundant,” a CBA spokesperson told HRD in a statement.
“We have apologised to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required.”
Reversal a ‘major win’
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) called the employee callback a “major win,” but noted that the damage was already done for the 45 impacted workers.
According to the FSU, the bank reversed its decision amid rising call volumes, with management scrambling to offer overtime and even pulling team leaders onto their phones.
“This is a massive win for workers, proving what can be achieved when members stand together — but let’s be clear, this is no victory lap,” said FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano in a statement.
“CBA has been caught out trying to dress up job cuts as innovation. Using AI as a cover for slashing secure jobs is a cynical cost-cutting exercise, and workers know it.”
CBA said it is now offering support to impacted employees.
“We are also reviewing our internal processes to improve our approach going forward,” the CBA spokesperson added.
The bank’s backflip comes amid a growing number of organisations that are laying off or are planning to reduce their workforce as a result of AI implementation.
Efforts to curb through the introduction of AI Implementation Agreements are being pushed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which seeks to require employers to guarantee job security while introducing AI.