Nearly 200 technology workers at the Commonwealth Bank will be made redundant as part of another round of job cuts that the financial union has labelled “savage”.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) revealed this week that more than 172 roles in the Commonwealth Bank’s New South Wales tech team would be axed, while another 232 staff across a range of areas will be redeployed.

Workers in business banking, the chief operations office, institutional banking and markets, retail banking services, and support units will likely be impacted by the restructure, the union said.

The changes are part of “structural and operational” changes, the bank has said.

The redundancies are expected to be finalised by the end of November.

They bring the total number of jobs cut by the Commonwealth Bank this year to more than 1,000, according to the FSU, despite a record profit of $11 billion in the last financial year.

Union criticises CBA chief executive

FSU secretary Julia Angrisano slammed the bank for the changes, just months before Christmas and the holiday period.

“These savage job cuts confirm that there will never be a profit margin big enough to satisfy Australia’s richest bank,” Angrisano said.

“Despite ordinary workers helping the bank deliver a record $11 billion profit, [CEO] Matt Comyn still deems it necessary to pull the plug on another 172 jobs just in time for Christmas.”

A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson told Information Age, “Customer needs, technology and how we work continue to evolve, and we regularly review the capabilities we need and how our teams are organised.

“Our priority is to support our people to build the skills needed for new opportunities and, when possible, move into available roles.”

The spokesperson said more than 500 people whose roles were cut this year have “transitioned into other roles” within the bank.

The company announced a $90 million Future Workforce Program earlier this year, designed to “help employees build skills” as part of an “AI-ready workforce”.

Pay negotiations continue

A survey conducted by the FSU earlier this year found many Commonwealth Bank staff feared homelessness or financial ruin unless they received a pay offer delivering real wage growth.

More than 3,000 workers signed a petition calling for the bank’s pay offer to be improved, labelling it “dismal”.

The union is currently negotiating a new Enterprise Agreement for workers at the bank, and is pushing for improvements to the redundancy process and a commitment to upskill and train local workers for in-demand jobs.

The union is pushing for a 5 per cent annual pay rise, but says the bank has offered staff "either no guaranteed wage increase or a measly total of 2.5 per cent over the next three years".

In July the Commonwealth Bank announced plans to cut 176 tech and engineering roles.

At the time, the FSU accused it of engaging in “fake redundancies” and readvertising similar roles in India, which the bank denied.

Earlier this year about 300 jobs were cut at the Commonwealth Bank, with the majority in technology along with some in retail, business institutional banking, and human resources.

Late last year the bank reversed a decision to slash 45 customer service jobs amid increasing use of AI, admitting this move was an “error”.