‘Lied to their workers’: CBA’s ‘shameful act’ while sacking staff

The banking union has accused the Commonwealth Bank of a “shameful act” after announcing more than 300 redundancies.

The Commonwealth Bank has been accused of hiring around 100 roles in India just weeks after cutting more than 300 staff from its technology and retail sectors.

In an explosive statement, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) said the bank had been “caught” hiring a litany of roles at the Indian subsidiary in Bangalore just weeks after CBA announced 304 redundancies on June 10.

CBA has announced hundreds of redundancies this year. Picture: News Corp Australia

The FSU said the roles being advertised by CBA India had the exact same job titles as those impacted by the redundancies.

Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano said the move was in breach of CBA’s Enterprise Agreement and that the bank had “essentially lied to their workers”.

“We do not believe that the redundancies outlined in these change processes are in fact genuine redundancies and that in doing so, CBA has breached the terms of the Agreement,” Ms Angrisano said, pointing out that genuine redundancies mean the role is no longer required.

“This is the very definition of bad faith.”

The union has called the act “shameful”. Picture: NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Ms Angrisano said CBA India’s employee count had almost doubled in the last two years from 2854 to 5630.

“This is a shameful act from Australia’s richest company,” Ms Angrisano said.

“All Australians are paying for the sham redundancy actions of the CBA. Not only are Australian workers being unfairly and reasonably sacked but this is being subsidised by all taxpayers.

“Bona fide redundancies are taxed concessionally in the hands of the workers. It is especially disgusting that the nation’s richest company is also reducing the tax take as it makes the final payment to hundreds of Australians that we know are being sacked solely to have their work performed offshore.”

A CBA spokeswoman said the bank “refuted their claims” and have “met with the union this week to respond in detail and assure them that there is no basis to their allegation”.

“Like many organisations, we regularly review how we are organised to deliver the best experiences and outcomes for our customers. When roles change, our priority is always to redeploy or skill for a new role or opportunity wherever possible,’ she said in a statement.

“We have been transparent in communicating workforce shifts with our technology team over the last three years.

“This includes being explicit about roles which are declining and offering reskilling and upskilling opportunities to people in those roles.”

In March, CBA announced it would be cutting 164 jobs from its technology division before announcing more redundancies from the customer service department in May.

Some of the job cuts hit staff at CBA-owned Bankwest, which is transitioning into a “digital-only” bank.

Commonwealth Bank is Bankwest’s parent company. Britta Campion/News Corp Australia

The cuts came despite the bank announcing a six per cent rise in cash profits to $2.6 billion in the March quarter.

Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn said in May the results reflected the bank’s “disciplined operational and strategic execution”.

CBA chief executive Matt Comyn. Picture: Supplied

“Our deliberate and long-term conservative approach to key balance sheet settings enables us to support our customers, the economy and our shareholders through a range of macroeconomic scenarios,” he said after the release of the March quarter results.

“We remain focused on supporting our customers, maintaining consistent and disciplined execution, investing in our franchise and generating sustainable returns for our shareholders.”

Originally published as ‘Lied to their workers’: CBA’s ‘shameful act’ while sacking staff