Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) will cut almost 10% of its workforce, announcing plans to shed 3500 jobs and 1000 contractors by September next year. The move is part of chief executive Nuno Matos’ drive to streamline operations and reduce consultant spending.
The bank confirmed it would book a A$560 million restructuring charge, to be recorded in its full-year results in November. The cuts will target duplication across the business, trimming ANZ’s nearly 40,000 staff, but the bank said frontline customer roles and positions at Suncorp Bank in Queensland would not be affected.
Matos said his ambition was for ANZ to be “the best bank for our customers, while ensuring we sustainably meet the performance expected over the long term”. He added: “We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff…we are committed to working through the impacts as quickly and safely as we can, with both care and respect for our teams affected.”
The announcement follows weeks of quiet job cuts and exceeds market expectations. Analysts had anticipated around 2000 roles might be lost, but the scale has shocked observers. ANZ will also reduce reliance on consultants, with 1000 contractors to go, though it will continue working with McKinsey.
The Finance Sector Union criticised the move, warning ANZ was “betraying 3500 workers…cutting jobs simply to chase even bigger profits”.