CBA replaces dozens of call centre jobs with AI chatbot – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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The Commonwealth Bank has posted its profit for the 2024 financial year. (ABC News: Margaret Burin)
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has confirmed to the ABC that the organisation was cutting 45 jobs in its call centres after rolling out an artificial intelligence chatbot to deal with customer inquiries.
The move sparked outrage from the Finance Sector Union, which said impacted workers should be retrained and supported into new roles that leverage AI technology.
A spokesperson for the bank said opportunities to redeploy or reskill staff would be prioritised.
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."
Hundreds of thousands of Australians slugged more than $60 million in excessive bank fees could soon get a refund, but Commonwealth Bank customers may not see a cent of $270 million in unfair charges.
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 Commonwealth Bank has also introduced artificial intelligence to its customer-facing messaging services. (Supplied: Commonwealth Bank)
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.
Australia's biggest bank has increased its profit and raised its dividend despite a "challenging period" for many customers.
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.
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