Melbourne-based National Australia Bank announced plans on Tuesday to cut up to 2,500 roles during the 2027 financial year, equivalent to about 6 per cent of its internal workforce. The bank said in its operating-model announcement that up to 1,500 roles would go before the end of 2026, alongside a substantial reduction in consultants and external contractors.
NAB said the changes would concentrate on reducing the size of corporate functions, with no material impact expected on customer-facing banking roles. Its stated aim was to remove duplication and speed up decision-making, while improving productivity and making the organisation simpler and more efficient.
The bank cited more challenging economic conditions, rising customer expectations, competition and rapid technological change as reasons for reshaping its workforce. It said the changes would create capacity for continued investment, with priorities including business banking, deposit growth and home loans originated through its own channels.
NAB also said it had made deeper changes to senior management positions to broaden leadership responsibilities. The intended changes to work between teams would provide clearer roles, priorities and accountabilities, according to the bank. Those measures form part of a broader review of the workforce needed to support its strategy.
A bank spokeswoman told The Age, which offers subscription access, that the cuts did not reflect widespread replacement of roles by artificial intelligence, although AI would continue to change how work was done. She did not specify which teams or divisions would lose jobs, the newspaper reported.
The announcement follows other large banking-sector workforce reductions. The Guardian’s report placed NAB’s decision alongside the earlier announcement of 3,500 job losses at ANZ, describing a sector exposed to technological disruption. NAB’s own announcement described the changes as a way to align its workforce with growth and technology priorities.
NAB said it would begin consultation with staff and the Finance Sector Union. Support for departing employees would include redeployment and reskilling opportunities, career transition assistance and redundancy entitlements under applicable industrial instruments and employment obligations. The bank also committed to consultation and engagement opportunities during its organisational change process.
In its ASX disclosure, NAB forecast a restructuring charge of approximately $300 million before tax in the 2027 financial year, covering redundancy, redeployment and organisational redesign. That compares with about $80 million before tax in each of the 2025 and 2026 financial years. Further detail on the cost outlook will accompany its results on 5 November 2026.
