Jan 22 (Reuters) – Australia’s Finance Sector Union condemned ANZ Group’s decision to cut jobs across multiple Suncorp Bank divisions on Thursday, saying the layoffs contradict the commitments it made to workers when the sale was approved.
“ANZ has confirmed that 197 Suncorp Bank roles are being impacted, with 66 staff expected to lose their jobs. The majority of the impacted jobs are in Brisbane,” the FSU said in a statement.
ANZ completed its $3.3 billion acquisition of insurer Suncorp’s banking business in 2024.
The FSU said at the time the sale was approved, ANZ gave undertakings that for three years, there would be no regional ANZ or Suncorp bank closures and no changes to the number of Suncorp branches in Queensland.
“ANZ has said it is complying with its obligations; however, we have not seen the evidence to support that claim,” FSU National President Wendy Streets said.
The lender announced 3,500 job cuts in September last year as part of the first major changes ordered by new CEO Nuno Matos, but said the job cuts would mostly not affect customer-facing roles and the bank would meet its commitment to retaining Suncorp Bank jobs.
“ANZ is firmly committed to meeting our commitments to the Federal and Queensland Governments, including maintaining regional branch numbers throughout Australia and no net job losses in Australia as a direct result of the acquisition,” an ANZ spokesperson said.
The union, which according to its website broadly covers more than 130,000 workers across Australia’s banking, insurance and finance sectors, said it has called on the Federal Government to intervene and ensure ANZ is held accountable.
($1 = 1.4730 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
