ANZ-Suncorp Job Dispute: Union Hits Back as AI Reshapes Banking

Image Credit: Giulia Grani | Splash

On 22 January 2026, the Finance Sector Union said ANZ had begun organisational changes inside parts of Suncorp Bank that affect 197 roles, with 66 staff expected to lose their jobs, mostly in Brisbane. The union argued the move conflicts with commitments ANZ made when its purchase of Suncorp Bank was approved. ANZ said it remains compliant with the undertakings, including that there will be no net job losses in Australia as a direct result of the acquisition for three years.

Affecting Multiple Divisions

Reuters reported the union’s figures and described the changes as spanning multiple Suncorp Bank divisions. The union also called on the Federal Government to hold ANZ to its commitments, while ANZ responded that it is meeting the agreed conditions and that it stands by its workforce and regional service undertakings.

No Job Cut within Three Years

ANZ completed its acquisition of Suncorp Bank on 31 July 2024. The Federal Treasurer’s approval set out specific undertakings, including no net job losses across Australia in Suncorp Bank and ANZ as a result of the transaction for three years, plus requirements around support for affected staff and engagement with stakeholders including the Finance Sector Union.

ANZ’s own statement on the Treasurer’s decision also references maintaining regional branch numbers and no net job losses in Australia as a direct result of the acquisition for three years.

Reuters referred to the acquisition as US$3.3 billion.

Is AI Cutting Jobs?

This dispute lands in a period where large banks are actively redesigning work around automation and generative AI, especially in process heavy functions such as operations support, service workflows, internal knowledge search, and reporting.

ANZ has publicly discussed moving beyond basic chatbots toward agentic AI, describing it as the next stage of AI capability that still needs tight controls, testing, and monitoring in a regulated bank setting. ANZ has also described “amie”, a multi agent chatbot intended to help commercial and institutional bankers with market related questions and research so staff can spend more time on customer work.

Separately from the union dispute, ANZ’s investor materials on the Suncorp integration show the bank expects significant synergies over time, with integration costs including technology services and provisions for redundancy costs. This is relevant because integration programs typically include system consolidation and workflow simplification, the same areas where modern automation and AI deliver labour saving outcomes.

Importantly, none of these sources claim that the specific Suncorp related role changes announced by the union are directly caused by AI. The defensible point is that the banking industry’s AI push and integration driven simplification are happening in parallel, and workforce impacts are becoming more visible as these programs move from trials to operating model change.

Lessson Learnt from Commonwealth Bank

A useful recent Australian reference point is Commonwealth Bank’s customer service operations. In July 2025, ABC reported CommBank cut 45 call centre jobs after rolling out an AI chatbot, framing the change as AI driven productivity.

In August 2025, ABC reported CommBank reversed that decision, apologised to affected employees, and described it as an error, after the AI voice bot contributed to higher call volumes and operational issues.

That episode is a reminder for AI leaders and the public alike: workforce impact is not just about whether AI works in a lab or a pilot. It depends on end to end service performance, governance, and whether organisations have realistic transition plans for people and processes.

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