NAB will eliminate up to 2500 internal roles or approximately 6 per cent of its workforce, under a sweeping restructure.
National Australia Bank (NAB) will eliminate up to 2500 internal roles, approximately 6 per cent of its workforce, under a restructure targeting corporate functions and senior management.
The big four lender announced on Tuesday, (20 October) that up to 1500 positions would disappear before the end of 2026, with the overall reduction scheduled for FY27.
Consultants and external contractors will also face substantial cutbacks.
NAB expects a $300 million pre-tax restructuring charge covering redundancies, redeployment and organisational redesign, compared with approximately $80 million in each of the previous two financial years.
Corporate functions face cuts
The bank positioned the overhaul as a reassessment of the skills and organisational structure needed to pursue its ambitions.
“NAB is implementing these changes as part of a broader review to identify the nature of the workforce required to support NAB’s strategic ambition in an evolving operating environment," it said.
“These actions will help to make NAB a stronger bank, better placed to navigate risks and opportunities arising from more challenging economic conditions, increasing customer expectations, competitive intensity and rapid technological change.”
The lender also identified business banking, deposits and its proprietary mortgage channel as key investment priorities.
“They create capacity for ongoing investment in NAB’s strategic ambition for customers and support priorities to grow business banking, drive deposit growth and strengthen proprietary home lending,” the bank said.
NAB Chief executive Andrew Irvine stressed that the bank’s strategic direction remained unchanged despite the restructure and added that streamlining the organisation would translate into better service.
“Our ambition and strategy remain unchanged. We will improve productivity, risk outcomes and execution to be a simpler and more efficient bank,” Irvine said.
“These changes are expected to improve outcomes for customers by reducing duplication and speeding up decision making.”
Irvine also singled out corporate operations while seeking to reassure staff working directly with customers.
“We are particularly focused on reducing the size of corporate functions. There will be no material impact to customer-facing banking roles,” he said.
Irvine said that the reshuffle would also extend responsibilities for senior leaders as management structures changed.
“We have also deliberately made deeper changes to senior management positions which will broaden leadership responsibilities across the bank,” he outlined.
“This will simplify work between teams and improve cross-functional processes with clearer roles, priorities and accountabilities for our colleagues.”
Strategy, transformation and project management are among the areas reportedly in scope, alongside back-office, compliance, risk and business services functions.
The restructure is expected to leave approximately 40,000 full-time equivalent staff.
Union challenges efficiency case
Consultation with employees and the Finance Sector Union will begin as NAB offers redeployment, reskilling, career transition assistance and redundancy entitlements.
Irvine acknowledged that the ramifications of the restructure would extend beyond employees losing their positions.
“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,” he said.
However, the Finance Sector Union rejected NAB’s efficiency argument, warning that fewer staff would exacerbate pressure on employees already struggling with workloads.
It accused management of being “completely detached from the lived experience of workers”.
“Cutting 6% of a workforce will not ‘simplify’ NAB’s operating model or ‘better align its workforce to prioritise growth’. It will wreak chaos and entrench a culture of anxiety at a bank that seems hell bent on self-destruction,” it said.
The dispute follows earlier NAB restructures affecting technology, operations and banking teams.
According to the union, proposed March changes involved 447 Australian redundancies, 277 new Australian positions and more than 230 new overseas roles.
NAB’s announcement also follows ANZ’s September 2025 plan to shed approximately 3500 employees by September 2026 and end or review arrangements affecting around 1000 managed services contractors.
NAB will provide further detail on its FY27 cost outlook when it releases full-year results on 5 November
[Related: Major bank CEOs to face Senate inquiry over offset failures]
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