Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has signalled a new round of job cuts under two new technology partnerships that will grant the bank increased access to “AI talent”.
In a Thursday announcement, the bank declared it was partnering with global tech firms Infosys and Genpact as part of an ongoing ‘Productivity Program’.
Bendigo Bank said a new seven-year “technology service partnership” with Infosys would “significantly improve” its IT service delivery capability, and provide access to “global capabilities, software engineering and AI talent”.
A separate six-year partnership with Genpact would focus on boosting the bank’s productivity and risk management by providing “deep expertise in process optimisation and data insights”.
Bendigo Bank did not specify what products or services would be supplied by Genpact, though the company’s website boasts a range of AI solutions for “predictive intelligence, generative creativity, and autonomous agents”.
The bank said “process and operational improvements” expected from the partnerships would lead to “workforce changes” impacting people in its technology and business operations teams.
Chief executive Richard Fennell said the bank would “consult” with those impacted.
“Decisions that impact our people are never easy,” Fennell said.
“We acknowledge this will be a challenging time for our people and we are committed to leading these changes with compassion, care and respect.”
The bank said it expected to incur “upfront transition costs” of roughly $85 million to $95 million, while the cuts were expected to save at least $65 million year-on-year by the 2028 financial year.
How many jobs will be axed?
Though Bendigo Bank was certain its new partnerships would provide its 2.9 million customers a “smoother banking experience”, the bank was not able to provide an estimated number of potential job losses.
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) told Information Age it had only been given details about which departments would be impacted, while Bendigo Bank had “refused to outline the number of staff that would be impacted”.
“The FSU anticipates it could be in the hundreds – with some reports indicating up to 1000,” the union said.
“The FSU is aware other areas impacted include business and agribusiness, lending assessment and fulfillment, third party banking fulfillment, lending operations – consumer, customer processing and wealth operations, customer remediation, mortgage help, operational excellence, finance, financial crime operations and contact centre.”
The union’s national secretary, Julia Angrisano, added that the lack of information on how many jobs will be impacted “inspires zero confidence that management understands the full ramifications of what they are doing”.
“We therefore demand that CEO Richard Fennell and the board immediately reverse their decision before it’s too late,” she said.
Fennell said Bendigo Bank would be able to “reinvest in new technologies and capabilities” by “ leveraging global expertise and becoming simpler and more efficient”.
“For our people, it will mean access to new tools, improved processes, and an opportunity to learn new skills from global experts enabling them to focus on deepening relationships with customers and strengthening the hundreds of communities we serve,” he said.
Union lambastes AI ‘wipeout’
The FSU strongly condemned Bendigo Bank’s partnerships with Infosys and Genpact, stating the deals represented a “dangerous escalation in the fight to protect Australian jobs from being wiped out by AI”.
The union voiced “significant concerns” that there would be “devastating” effects for those who rely on Bendigo Bank for their banking needs, before warning “many questions” were left unanswered about “how sensitive information will be managed by the bank”.
“[There are] risks that customer data could be housed offshore,” said the FSU.
When asked if it would like to dispute whether AI was a significant driving factor for the forecasted job cuts, a Bendigo Bank spokesperson told Information Age “the detailed design for all impacted areas is yet to be finalised”.
The bank’s upcoming workforce shuffle follows a round of job cuts in 2025 that affected “less than 100” roles in its technology division – a change that predicated an AI, security, and training partnership with Google Cloud in November.
