Major Bank to Make Staff Redundancies; 2,500 to Be Affected

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The banking giant, National Australia Bank (NAB), announced on Tuesday (20 October 2026) that it would cut up to 2,500 jobs. This figure represents around 6 per cent of its total workforce in 2027.

Citing Reuters, Australia’s largest business lender stated that up to 1,500 roles would be made redundant by the end of 2026 at the latest. This move is being taken as part of an effort to streamline operations amidst an increasingly challenging outlook for credit growth.

More specifically, management said the cuts would mainly target corporate functions, rather than banking roles directly involving customers. NAB also plans to significantly reduce its use of consultants and contractors.

This reorganisation will incur restructuring costs of approximately A$300 million (around Rp3.77 trillion), before tax, in 2027, covering the costs of redundancies, employee redeployment and organisational restructuring. By way of comparison, NAB estimates there will be costs of around A$80 million before tax in 2025 and 2026.

“These changes are aimed at improving productivity, risk management outcomes and execution, whilst making the bank simpler and more efficient,” said NAB CEO Andrew Irvine.

The bank stated that these measures will create scope to continue investing in key priorities. These include the development of business banking, increasing deposits, and strengthening the bank’s residential mortgage lending business.

This reduction in staff numbers comes amid mounting pressure on Australian banks, where a slowdown in the housing sector, increasingly fierce competition and high operating costs have weighed on profit margins.

In August, NAB warned that growth in housing loans would slow sharply by 2027 following the federal government’s property tax reforms, a policy which, according to the bank, has dampened demand from both homebuyers and investors. At the time, Irvine revealed that a combination of geopolitical uncertainty, higher domestic interest rates and changes to tax policy had created challenges for customers.

According to its latest annual report, NAB had 41,880 employees worldwide as at 30 September 2025.

This move follows a similar restructuring effort by its competitor, ANZ, which last year announced plans to cut around 3,500 jobs by September 2026. The move forms part of a streamlining programme led by CEO Nuno Matos to reduce duplication and cut costs.