ANZ to cut 3,500 employees by September 2026
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More news: Morningstar has retained its fair value estimate on ANZ after the bank announced this morning that it will cut around 4,500 staff, including contractors, over the next 12 months.
Morningstar kept its fair value estimate of $32, compared to ANZ's last trading value of $32.83 as at 2:40pm AEST.
Analyst Nathan Zaia said the bank is trading at "close to fair value" unlike the other big banks, which he sees as expensive. He noted that reliance on consultants has led to ANZ's digital offerings and operating efficiency lagging peers, "warranting a fresh approach".
Zaia also said ANZ's update increases the likelihood that the migration to a new banking platform, ANZ Plus, will be pulled. He said the project still lacks functionality despite "billions of dollars" of investment.
"... if the strategy needs to pivot, it is likely in the best interest of shareholders," Zaia said.
Morningstar now expects earnings to benefit from redirecting investment spending to smaller projects, which will improve consistency and speed of approvals.
ANZ job cuts 'unhinged': Finance Sector Union
More news: The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has slammed ANZ for "betraying" 3,500 workers, saying planned job cuts announced this morning are "unhinged, reckless, unnecessary and driven by pure greed."
The FSU, which plans to appeal to the Fair Work Commission, confirmed that the cuts would impact 14% of the work force from ANZ's retail and technology divisions.
What they said: “ANZ’s plan is pure corporate vandalism: destroying livelihoods, gutting communities and feeding greed,” said FSU national president Wendy Streets.
“ANZ is one of the most profitable banks in the world, yet it is betraying 3,500 workers simply to chase even bigger profits. This is out of control — it’s not strategy, it’s unhinged.
“This isn’t a plan, it’s chaos. You cannot build the future of Australia’s biggest bank on secrecy, incompetence and betrayal.
“Workers built this bank and kept it strong through crisis after crisis, now those same workers are being discarded so ANZ executives can feed an out-of-control profit machine.”
ANZ's Nuno Matos says job cuts were the 'last resort'
More news: ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos said it was a “very tough decision" and was “very tough for the impacted people and their families”.
Speaking at the Financial Review Asia Summit, Nuno said the decision to axe 4,500 people — employees and contractors — was the “last resort”.
What they said: “So it’s about avoiding duplication, reducing complexity and stopping projects that don’t align with our priorities. It’s very difficult news for our people,” Matos said.
“ANZ is a great company, has great people and businesses, great franchise of customers but it does not mean we don’t have to take decisions.
"...I hate to do this, but it's for the future of the company, which incorporates many customers, many employees, [and] shareholders."
Matos noted that the company “has been quite transparent since day one. Employees need transparency and clarity”.
“And since I started four months ago, we communicated our priorities, and they were about evolving our culture into more performative culture that was very clear, and that means being more clear, be more decisive, focus on execution,” he said.
“Second was about accelerating the pace, especially around some of our micro projects, including plus some core very transparently. And as we said very clearly, we have to put our house in order, especially around risk management, that's very obvious”
ANZ to cut 3,500 employees by September 2026
The news: ANZ has announced that it will cut 3,500 employees by September 2026 and will reduce engagements with consultants and other third parties, impacting around 1,000 contractors.
The announcement comes a week after Capital Brief reported that ANZ was finalising plans to cut as many as 5,000 jobs from its retail division as part of a broader restructure aimed at slashing its cost base.
The numbers: The group is expected to recognise a restructuring charge of around $560 million, before tax, in its second-half results.
The context: ANZ said the changes are to "simplify the bank, strengthen its focus on its priorities and deliver for its customers". The move is expected to reduce duplication and internal complexity, and have "limited impacts" to frontline customer facing roles.
The bank said it will provide a "comprehensive support program" for impacted staff, including individual support, career advice, planning support services, and access to a career training fund.
What they said: "We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff," said ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos.
"While some of these changes have already commenced, we are committed to working through the impacts as quickly and safely as we can, with both care and respect for our teams affected."
The sources: ASX, Morningstar research, FSU media release
