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National Australia Bank plans up to 2,500 job cuts

National Australia Bank said it plans to cut as many as 2,500 jobs over the 2027 financial year, including up to 1,500 before the end of 2026. Chief executive Andrew Irvine said customer-facing roles would see no material impact, while a union leader condemned the cuts.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 6 entries
5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 3 · R 0 · 2 unrated
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Photo: Aaroncrick / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • The bank said up to 1,500 jobs could go before the end of the 2026 calendar year (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Chief executive Andrew Irvine said the cuts would have no material impact on customer-facing roles (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Irvine said the bank was focusing on corporate functions and expected the changes to improve productivity, reduce duplication and speed decision-making (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Union national assistant secretary Nicole McPherson called the cuts “disgraceful” and said NAB’s leadership was detached from workers’ experience (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • The bank said it would provide further details on its cost outlook with its 2026 financial results on November 5 (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • ANZ announced the previous year that it would cut 3,500 employees and 1,000 contractors, while saying customer-facing roles would not bear the cuts (per The Sydney Morning Herald).

The brief

National Australia Bank plans to eliminate as many as 2,500 jobs over the 2027 financial year, with up to 1,500 of those positions potentially going before the end of the 2026 calendar year, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The bank’s announcement was made on Tuesday morning. The planned reduction is described as about 6 per cent of its workforce.

The bank also plans to reduce its use of contractors. Chief executive Andrew Irvine said customer-facing roles would face no material impact. He said the bank was focusing on corporate functions and expected the changes to improve productivity, reduce duplicated work and speed up decision-making.

Those are the bank’s stated aims for the restructuring; the article does not provide a breakdown of how many jobs would be affected in particular functions. The proposed cuts drew criticism from Nicole McPherson, the union’s national assistant secretary. McPherson called the decision “disgraceful” and said NAB’s leadership was detached from workers’ experience.

Her criticism addresses the scale and timing of the workforce reduction, while Irvine’s comments describe the bank’s intended operational changes and its assurance about customer-facing roles. NAB expects restructuring costs of about $300 million before tax during the 2027 financial year, which began on October 1, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The bank said it would provide further information about its cost outlook alongside the release of its 2026 financial results on November 5. The report does not give an estimate of savings or specify how the planned job reductions will be distributed across the bank. The report places NAB’s plan alongside a workforce reduction previously announced by ANZ.

ANZ said last year it would cut 3,500 employee positions and 1,000 contractor roles, while also saying the cuts would not come at the expense of customer-facing roles.

That comparison provides a separate example of a large Australian bank announcing workforce cuts while describing customer-facing work as protected; it does not establish that the banks’ plans have the same structure or effects. For NAB, the immediate disclosed measures are the planned job reductions, lower contractor use and the anticipated restructuring charge.

Irvine’s assurance about customer-facing roles and McPherson’s criticism present contrasting views of the announced changes. The bank’s next stated update on the financial outlook is scheduled to accompany its 2026 results on November 5.

Why it matters

  • NAB employees face a planned reduction of up to 2,500 jobs over the 2027 financial year, including as many as 1,500 before 2027.
  • The bank anticipates about $300 million in pre-tax restructuring costs during that financial year.
  • NAB says customer-facing roles will see no material impact; union representative Nicole McPherson criticized the cuts and the bank’s leadership.
  • NAB says the changes are intended to improve productivity, reduce duplication and speed decision-making.

What to watch next

  • Whether NAB provides further cost-outlook details with its 2026 financial results on November 5.
  • How many of the planned job reductions occur before the end of the 2026 calendar year, against the bank’s stated ceiling of 1,500.
  • Whether NAB specifies how the cuts will be distributed across corporate functions and other roles.
  • Whether NAB provides further detail on its plan to reduce contractor use.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 3 Center · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 40% · Global 40% · Other 20%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
3 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (3 of 3 rated sources); comparatively few Left or Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

One source is from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The National Australia Bank (NAB) was formed in 1982 through the merger of the National Bank of Australasia and the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, creating one of the country’s major banking groups.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. National Australia Bank acquired Clydesdale Bank.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. National Australia Bank acquired Bank of New Zealand.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Australia passed the Fair Work Act, which provides for consultation over major workplace changes through applicable awards and enterprise agreements.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Andrew Irvine became National Australia Bank’s chief executive.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. In 2025, ANZ announced plans to cut 3,500 employee positions and 1,000 contractor roles, while saying customer-facing jobs would not bear the cuts.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

In 2025, ANZ announced plans to cut 3,500 employee positions and 1,000 contractor roles, while saying customer-facing jobs would not bear the cuts. The National Australia Bank (NAB) was formed in 1982 through the merger of the National Bank of Australasia and the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, creating one of the country’s major banking groups.

Its later workforce decisions sit within Australia’s employment framework: the Fair Work Act 2009 provides for consultation over major workplace changes through applicable awards and enterprise agreements. These institutional and regulatory origins provide context for how large banks in Australia have managed organisational change.

Original sources

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