ANZ to cut 3,500 jobs over next year as new CEO revamps bank

MELBOURNE – Australia’s ANZ Group said on Sept 9 that it would shed 3,500 jobs by September 2026 as part of a wide-ranging revamp under new chief executive Nuno Matos.

This is one of the largest rounds of job cuts in the sector in recent years and represents about an 8 per cent reduction of the bank’s 43,000 full-time employees.

ANZ said it would also sack 1,000 contractors and review consultants and third-party contractor agreements.

The bank, Australia’s fourth-largest by market capitalisation, said the move would simplify operations and reduce duplication.

ANZ is expected to incur a restructuring charge of about A$560 million (S$475 million) before tax in the second half of 2025.

“My ambition is for ANZ to be the best bank for our customers while ensuring we sustainably meet the performance expected over the long term,” Mr Matos said in the statement.

“We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff.”

Ms Wendy Streets, Finance Sector Union’s (FSU) national president, said the job cuts were aimed at boosting the bank’s profitability.

“When the FSU asked ANZ who will actually do the work of the 3,500 sacked staff, the bank had no answer except to say the work will simply stop,” she said. “That’s not a plan, that’s chaos.”

Mr Matos, just four months into his role leading ANZ, is orchestrating a turnaround strategy aimed at winning back trust from regulators while assuaging investors’ concerns.

He has told staff to stop work that is not a priority and has pledged to improve the bank’s culture and risk management.  

A former HSBC Holdings banker who forged a reputation for fixing problems, Mr Matos was forced to apologise in August after a botched communication of a redundancy plan.

The firm last week began cutting so-called middle- and back-office jobs within its institutional banking division, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr Matos took over in May from Mr Shayne Elliott, the former CEO who was plagued by regulatory inquiries during his final year in charge.

The banking regulator has slapped additional capital requirements on the firm due to risk management shortcomings, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is examining ANZ’s role in the sale of government bonds. 

Since Mr Matos arrived, several senior people have left the firm, including former retail chief Maile Carnegie and tech boss Gerard Florian. Mr Les Vance started at the bank last week, reporting directly to Mr Matos. He is responsible for strengthening non-financial risk management and culture consistently across the bank. 

ANZ is also revamping its structure of senior managers, creating separate chief risk officers for its retail and commercial divisions as well as the institutional bank’s chief risk role. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS