Union warns local jobs to go during bank’s efficiency drive

BENDIGO Bank’s recently-announced multi-year productivity program partnerships with two global outsourcing corporations will impact 80 local jobs, or 8 per cent of its Bath-lane based workforce, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) has claimed.

The new partnerships constitute a seven-year technology service deal with India-based global outsourcing company Infosys and a six-year engagement with New York data, AI and business process specialist Genpact.

In a recent meeting with the union, the bank confirmed 188 jobs will be impacted in the first wave of cuts to its technology department stemming from the new arrangements, which equates to about 26 per cent of its tech workforce.

The majority of the roles affected will be engineers, including software engineers, senior software engineers and engineering managers.

It is proposed that 155 of those employees will be transferred to Infosys by August, while an additional 33 jobs will be made redundant.

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said the bank has all but admitted that its productivity program is really a slash-and-burn scheme, and Australian jobs are in the firing line.

“Tragically, the local community in Bendigo will bear the brunt of these cuts,” she said.

“You cannot wipe out over a quarter of a department’s workforce without triggering devastating consequences for local communities and those employees left to pick up the pieces.

“The FSU holds grave concerns that Bendigo Bank does not understand the full ramifications of its actions.”

Bendigo Bank chief executive Richard Fennell said decisions that impact the organisation’s employees are never going to be easy.

“We acknowledge this will be a challenging time for our people and we are committed to leading these changes with compassion, care and respect,” he said.

“We will consult with our people impacted by these changes, and we are committed to ensuring the support they need is available.

“The health and wellbeing of the bank’s people continue to be key considerations in the planning and implementation of these essential workplace changes.”

Angrisano went as far as to say that the developments mean the idea of Bendigo Bank being a community bank is now dead.

“It has completely abandoned any pretense of being Australia’s most trusted bank,” she said.

“The race to the bottom has well and truly started in Australia when it comes to AI adoption and offshoring, and Australians should be outraged by the failures of both business and government.

“We are now seeing in real time the disastrous consequences of a complete lack of AI regulation, and Australian workers are paying the ultimate price.”

Fennell, however, said access to such significant global capability and expertise will accelerate the pace of change in the bank.

“To continue to deliver on Bendigo Bank’s longstanding purpose to feed into the prosperity of customers and community, we must actively look for ways to innovate,” he said.

“By leveraging global expertise and becoming simpler and more efficient, we can reinvest in new technologies and capabilities.”

The FSU has notified the bank that it considers the matter to be in dispute due to its failure to properly consult with the union and employees about the changes, in what it considers to be the first step in what could lead to escalation to the Fair Work Commission.

Bendigo Bank’s productivity program was announced early last year as part of a broader strategy update alongside other cost reduction and efficiency measures.