National Australia Bank to Cut 2,500 Jobs in Major Restructure Amid AI Shift and Slowing Economy

National Australia Bank is cutting 2,500 jobs, representing 6 per cent of its workforce, in another significant round of layoffs in a sector heavily exposed to disruption by artificial intelligence.

In a statement on Tuesday, NAB said the bulk of the redundancies would occur before the end of the year, citing a challenging economy, competition and ‘rapid technological change’.

The move is the latest in a series of sector-wide job cuts, highlighted by ANZ's 3,500-person layoff announced last year, as Australia's big banks trim headcount one after another.

Angel Zhong, a professor of finance at RMIT, said the restructure was part of an industry-wide reset. ‘The banks are investing heavily in technology and AI, and redesigning their base workforce for a much more digital banking model,’ said Zhong.

‘This is not just cyclical cost cutting, it's structural change,’ she added — meaning the shift is unlikely to reverse even when economic conditions improve.

Banking sector jobs are among the most exposed to advances in AI, according to a government report released in July. So-called ‘cognitive roles’, such as administrative, programming and clerk positions, were identified as most at risk.

Notably, financial institutions have rarely referenced AI directly when announcing redundancies, amid sensitivities over public and political backlash. NAB's statement likewise avoided naming AI, referring instead to ‘rapid technological change’.

The bank said the changes would reduce duplication and speed up decision-making. It also plans to ‘materially reduce its use of consultants and external contractors’.

The fortunes of Australia's big banks are closely tied to the property market and the broader economy, making their structural shifts a clear barometer for wider corporate layoffs.

The economy has been losing momentum, and unemployment has risen to 4.7 per cent, its highest rate in nearly five years. A cut of this scale from a major bank will only deepen anxiety among jobseekers.

The Finance Sector Union's national assistant secretary Nicole McPherson said the NAB cuts would have a significant impact ‘on a workforce already overwhelmed by unmanageable workloads’. ‘It will wreak chaos and entrench a culture of anxiety at a bank that seems hell bent on self-destruction,’ McPherson said.