NAB announces it will cut thousands of jobs

The National Australia Bank is the latest of the Big Four banks to announce massive job cuts with 2500 employees, or about 6 per cent of the workforce, to depart over this financial year.

The bank made the announcement on Tuesday morning, saying up to 1500 jobs would go before the end of the 2026 calendar year. It will also reduce its use of consultants and external contractors.

NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine said the moves were designed to make the bank more efficient and that the cuts would have no “material impact to customer-facing roles”.

“We will improve productivity, risk outcomes and execution to be a simpler and more efficient bank. These changes are expected to improve outcomes for customers by reducing duplication and speeding up decision-making. We are particularly focused on reducing the size of corporate functions,” Irvine said.

“We know this will be a difficult period for our colleagues impacted by these changes as well as the people around them. We will treat every person with dignity and respect.”

The cuts mimic a significant cull by ANZ last year which announced it was slashing costs by sacking 3500 employees and another 1000 contractors but also emphasised that the cuts would not be at the expense of customer-facing roles.

ANZ’s cull, which finished last month, was described by new ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos, as a very difficult but necessary step to simplify its operations and shore up the bank’s long-term viability.

Like Matos, Irvine plans to use savings to shore up its defences amid intensifying competition and invest in priority growth areas.

“We have also deliberately made deeper changes to senior management positions which will broaden leadership responsibilities across the bank,” Irvine said.

“This will simplify work between teams and improve cross-functional processes with clearer roles, priorities and accountabilities for our colleagues.”

Business growth areas he highlighted on Tuesday included growing its market-leading business banking division, increasing customer deposits and strengthening its home lending rather than relying on external brokers to generate business.

NAB said the cuts were expected to generate restructuring costs of about $300 million pre-tax for the 2027 financial year.

It said further details on the cost outlook for the next financial year will be provided with the release of its 2026 financial results on November 5.

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