National Australia Bank to cut 170 jobs amid offshore expansion

March 26 (Reuters) – Australia’s Finance Sector Union said on Thursday that National Australia Bank is proposing cutting about 170 jobs across the country as part of a restructuring of its business division, which will also create new roles offshore. 

Here are some details:

* The union, which represents bank workers across Australia,said the proposal would make 447 roles redundant while creating277 new onshore positions, resulting in a net loss of about 170jobs nationwide. * Separately, NAB, the country’s No. 2 lender by marketvalue, is also proposing to create 237 new offshore roles,primarily in India and Vietnam, the union added. * NAB said the changes were part of its strategy to build a”modern workforce” and that it would continue hiring anddeveloping staff in Australia, particularly in customer-facingroles. * It, however, didn’t confirm the number of jobs impacted bythe move. * The bank said the proposed roles in India and Vietnamwould operate as an extension of its Australian teams, helpingdeliver more consistent outcomes for customers. * FSU national president Wendy Streets said the overhaulwould shift ongoing skilled roles to lower-cost offshoremarkets, although she acknowledged improvements to redeploymentpathways for some affected staff. * In its latest annual report, NAB said it has more than38,000 colleagues globally, with around 76.6% of permanentheadcount based in Australia, implying roughly 29,000 staff inAustralia. * Across the sector, rivals have also announced job cuts,with ANZ saying in September it would cut about 3,500 jobs and1,000 contractors under new CEO Nuno Matos. * Commonwealth Bank said in July it was cutting 45 jobs aspart of a shift toward AI-driven operations, drawing criticismfrom the Finance Sector Union.

(Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)