Commonwealth Bank of Australia hires Indian ICT workers after firing Australians

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the nation’s richest and biggest bank, nearly doubled its Indian workforce from 2,854 in 2022 to 5,630 in 2024, while laying off 2,581 Australian employees during the same period, sparking outrage from the Finance Sector Union (FSU). The union highlighted that CBA’s India subsidiary is hiring for roles like Staff Data Engineer and Senior Software Engineer, matching 110 of the 631 Australian jobs cut in 2024, including 304 in June alone.

The FSU called these layoffs “outrageous and unjustified,” accusing CBA of using “piecemeal announcements [so it] wouldn’t be widely noticed.” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said, “For them to make workers redundant in Australia is to make a claim that those positions are no longer required,” yet hiring for identical roles in India “is the very definition of bad faith.”

“These jobs are not required to be done in India; they’re just moving the work there to take advantage of cheaper labour and further line their own pockets.”

The FSU alleges CBA breached its Enterprise Agreement, which defines redundancy as roles no longer needed or relocated unreasonably, and plans to challenge the bank at the Fair Work Commission. Job postings at CBA’s Bangalore-Manyata Tech Park emphasize advanced IT work. Despite CBA’s claim of transparency, Angrisano labeled the hiring a “shameful act” as Australia’s unemployment hit 4.3% in June. CBA has stated “there is no basis” to the FSU’s allegations, asserting transparency in its workforce shifts.