Commonwealth Bank of Australia reportedly weighs 300-plus job cuts as pay dispute deepens

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is reportedly considering cutting more than 300 jobs, with further redundancies potentially expected towards the end of the year. 

The report was first published by HR Leader, which cited an anonymous message sent to the popular Instagram page The Aussie Corporate.

According to the message, between 6 and 363 employees could be impacted in another round of workforce reductions across CBA's business banking, HR and technology functions. The bank has already cut around 850 Australian jobs this year.

“CBA change window 6-363 employees impacted, Another cull in Business banking, HR and tech. And there’s talks of redundancies at Christmas time too…” the anonymous text reads.

CBA has not publicly confirmed the reported cuts.

Pay dispute

The reports of potential redundancies come as CBA faces a pay dispute with thousands of its Australian employees, with the Finance Sector Union (FSU) raising concerns over the bank's current pay offer.

“Staff at CBA have told the FSU they fear homelessness or financial ruin unless they receive a pay offer that delivers real wage growth,” the FSU wrote.

According to the FSU, around 71 per cent of CBA's Australian workforce would receive an increase below inflation in the first year under the current offer. It also said 47 per cent of employees would either receive no guaranteed increase or receive only 2.5 per cent over three years.

The union has contrasted the proposed increases with CBA's reported financial performance. The bank reported an after-tax profit of $11 billion in August, while chief executive Matt Comyn's remuneration increased by 30 per cent to $9.1 million.

At the lower end of the pay scale, the FSU said CBA's lowest-paid employees earn $2.82 more than Australia's national minimum wage of $26.44.

Union raises concerns

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said she had written to CBA over concerns raised by employees about wages and working conditions.

“CBA’s current offer rubs salt into employees’ wounds and only widens the already obscene pay disparity between management and the workers,” Angrisano said.

“I want Matt Comyn to read the thousands of comments we’ve received and tell everyone that he is okay with how his employees are faring.”

“We should not have working poor in Australia, but that is exactly what we are seeing at CBA. Workers turn up every day to pay the bills, afford a better home and make ends meet. CBA can afford to do better... it’s workers certainly deserve better.”

The FSU also included comments from employees in its letter to CBA, with some workers expressing concerns about the possibility of losing their homes if unexpected financial pressures arise.

“It’s insulting to be offered a ‘pay rise’ which is below inflation – that’s a pay cut,” said one staffer.”

“There are no holidays, no eating out, no extracurricular activities for the kids anymore. We are pretty much just breaking even each month, holding our breath for the next bill increase or rate rise to send us over the edge,” said another.

As of publication, CBA had not commented on either the reported job cuts or the ongoing pay dispute.