NAB ‘reshape’ will cost jobs CEO Ross McEwan says

NAB chief Ross McEwan concedes some roles will be lost as the bank ‘reshapes’ in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

NAB chief executive Ross McEwan. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

National Australia Bank chief Ross McEwan has vowed to protect as many jobs as possible at the bank as it navigates the COVID-19 fallout, despite admitting some roles would be removed to “reshape the business” and position for the future.

In a memo to NAB’s 34,000 staff, Mr McEwan on Friday said he wanted to be “open and direct” with employees, given many were concerned about the outlook for the economy and their own roles.

“I want to be really clear that we are going to fight together for the jobs of all 34,000 colleagues at NAB against the impact of COVID-19 as strongly as we are fighting to help our 9 million customers and support the economy,” he added.

Mr McEwan conceded, though, that NAB wouldn’t be able to assist all businesses through the economic downturn and said the bank and its staff would need to be flexible through the crisis.

“We are doing everything we can to keep as many colleagues for as long as possible in the face of this crisis,” he said, noting staff would need to be flexible, NAB was retraining and upskilling some employees to be redeployed but that a restructure outside of COVID-19 would continue.

Mr McEwan didn’t mention predecessor Andrew Thorburn’s program of job cuts which were meant to see 6000 roles eliminated over three years, but 2000 added by hiring or retraining, leading to a net decline of 4000 jobs. He has started his own process improvement at NAB after an assessment of the business since his arrival.

Mr McEwan started in the top job at NAB in December 2019, at the end of a year that saw the Hayne royal commission claim Mr Thorburn’s job and that of former bank chairman Ken Henry.

“We will still change or remove roles for reasons other than COVID-19, including restructures which were already planned or may become required as we continue to reshape the business,” Mr McEwan said in the memo. “As conditions continue to change, we may ask more of you to be flexible in what you do at NAB.

“Adapting to our new environment, swiftly and wholeheartedly, has served us well so far but we may need many more to join the teams dealing directly with customers.”

Banks including NAB have been flooded with requests for loan repayment deferrals across business and personal customers as the pandemic has caused many sectors to enter a period of hibernation and spurred sharp job losses.

The bank won’t, though, be able to assist all businesses through the deep disruption.

“There are a number of customers we cannot and should not help, as to give them more money that they cannot repay is not good for them or the bank,” Mr McEwan said. He praised NAB’s staff for their efforts so far and added he wanted to unlock the bank’s potential.

NAB has already halted more than 100 internal programs at the bank to focus on the 19 most important as it seeks to navigate the pandemic’s fallout. It has also converted some branches to training centres to be able to redeploy staff more quickly.

NAB reports its interim profits early next month and investors are on high alert for dividend cuts and anticipate the bank will detail its expectations for COVID-19 related loan losses.

In December, The Australian revealed Mr McEwan had brought in consultants Bain & Company to assist in a three-to-four month review, as he worked out the next leg of the bank’s strategy.