The FSU has commenced a Fair Work dispute against the ANZ bank over the significant workplace health and safety concerns that it says have stemmed from the ANZ’s mass redundancy plans. The bank aims to slash the jobs of 3,500 employees and 1,000 contractors by September 2026, with most of the 3,500 employee positions projected to go by the end of March. The bank’s poor handling and communication of the process has led to workers reportedly experiencing psychosomatic symptoms such as stomach pain, headaches and muscle tensions with employee’s reporting anxiety that is spreading negatively into their family lives.
As of 31 October, more than 30 per cent of the targeted 3,500 employees have exited the bank, while all 1,000 contractors – known as “managed services consultants” – have already departed.
Despite redundancy related costs and a $240 million ASIC fine for “widespread misconduct” (related to incorrectly reporting bond trading data to the government, ignoring hundreds of customer hardship notices and failing to refund fees charged to thousands of dead customers), ANZ’s full-year profit still reached $5.7 billion. An ANZ spokesperson said the redundancies were part of a number of changes as it focused on its “refreshed ANZ 2030 strategy”.
The FSU conducted an interim survey of 200 ANZ employees, alleging the ANZ’s culture of uncertainty was “so severe it is making workers sick”. “Thousands of its employees are living with anxiety, burnout and dread,” FSU national president Wendy Streets said.
“We’re hearing from people who can’t sleep, who’ve developed panic attacks, and who dread going to work. ANZ’s profits are up, but so is the human cost.”
Eighty per cent of workers who participated in the FSU survey said they felt nervous or on edge nearly every day as they waited to learn their employment fate.
Eighty-one per cent said communication from executives had not been transparent or timely and 49 per cent said they did not feel safe to raise concerns, fearing negative consequences.
“Everything is chaos – roles are changing weekly, workloads are huge, and no one knows who will still have a job next month,” said one worker, who gave anonymous testimony.
“No worker should have to choose between their mental health and their job and yet that’s exactly what ANZ’s staff are facing,” a second worker said.
Ms Streets added that the FSU views ANZ’s pursuit of record profits as having created a trail of harm, further suggesting that the recent job cuts are entirely unjustified. The union continues to advocate for the well-being of ANZ employees amidst the ongoing restructuring.
Read more: FSU | FSU commenced dispute with ANZ over OHS concerns
ANZ profits soar to $5.7 billion while workers report psychological distress from mass job cuts