The AI job wipeout that has ravaged the software industry has gone mainstream, with Bendigo & Adelaide Bank looking to swing the axe through its workforce and slash operating costs.
The mid-tier bank confirmed on Thursday that new investments in technology and partnerships will save it up to $75 million a year. While the details were thin, a good chunk of those savings will come through job cuts.
For Bendigo, that makes strategic sense as it tries to compete with the big four without their scale. As we’ve reported, the bank is alive to the immense challenge in front of it as it looks to use technology to overcome its disadvantages and avoid joining the long list of mid-level banks that have disappeared from Australian shores entirely.
While cost-cutting won the backing of the market today, sending shares up almost 9%, future growth is what will ultimately deliver for shareholders.
