ANZ CEO says firing of staff by automated email was ‘indefensible’

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By Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY (Reuters) -ANZ Group’s Chief Executive Nuno Matos said on Friday it was ‘indefensible and deeply disappointing’ for bankers to have been told they were being made redundant by automated emails, adding that the bank was taking steps to ensure no repetitions.

Matos contacted the affected staff and senior executives in two emails seen by Reuters, the contents of which were confirmed by an ANZ spokesperson.

Some retail banking staff facing job cuts received an email on Wednesday telling them of their redundancies before they were told officially, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The emails had been sent by mistake, an ANZ spokesperson said at the time, and redundancy meetings were hastened subsequently.

“The way this sensitive news was shared with some of you is indefensible and deeply disappointing,” Matos told affected staff in an email on Friday.

“We are investigating the cause of the issue with urgency, to ensure it does not happen again.”

In a separate email, Matos told senior managers the bank needed to improve its non-financial risk management practices.

The results of a strategic review of ANZ, ordered by Matos after he joined the bank in May, are set to be finalised in October.

“This is a timely reminder that managing non-financial risk well matters not only for how we serve our customers, but also critically, our people,” Matos wrote.

“We must stay focused on fixing the controls and processes that aren’t working … to earn the respect of our employees as well as our regulators and shareholders.”

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)