ANZ reportedly eyeing 100+ IT job cuts

ANZ is reportedly considering cutting more than 100 jobs from its New Zealand technology teams, according to the Australian Financial Review. The paper says the bank told NZ staff this week that more than 400 of its 1500 permanent IT roles could be affected by a restructuring, with over 100 workers expected to be made redundant.

A spokesperson for ANZ NZ has confirmed the bank is considering changes to its technology team, though the bank has not given its own figures on how many jobs are at risk. The confirmation comes just weeks after ANZ flagged possible cuts to its Dunedin contact centre, suggesting the bank is in the middle of a broader look at how it staffs its New Zealand operations.

For a bank that employs thousands of New Zealanders and processes the everyday banking of a large share of the population, changes of this scale to its technology workforce matter well beyond the staff directly affected. IT teams underpin everything from mobile banking to fraud detection, so how ANZ handles this process will be watched closely by staff, unions and customers alike.

The record

According to the AFR, ANZ told staff this week it was reviewing its technology division, with more than 400 of its 1500 permanent IT roles potentially affected. The paper reports the bank wants to consolidate software testing under a single strategic partner, a move that typically means outsourcing work currently done in house.

ANZ NZ's own statement, provided to RNZ, frames the review differently. It says the bank is looking at "bringing together related functions like data, AI and engineering for greater consistency, and to make the most of expertise across ANZ." The spokesperson said ANZ NZ "regularly reviews how our business is structured" as part of "our ongoing commitment to operate efficiently and deliver for customers."

This is not an isolated announcement. Earlier this month ANZ said it was considering closing its Dunedin contact centre, with RNZ understanding the bank wanted to cut customer-facing roles there from 15 to just two. Staff affected in Dunedin were offered the option of transferring to Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Taken together, the two announcements point to a wider restructuring effort inside ANZ NZ this year.

What doesn't add up

The numbers reported so far leave a gap. The AFR says more than 400 roles are affected by the restructuring but only "more than 100" redundancies are expected. That leaves roughly 300 roles unaccounted for. Are those positions being redeployed elsewhere in the bank, converted to different roles, or simply under review with no decision made yet? Neither the AFR report nor ANZ's statement explains what happens to the difference.

ANZ has also not confirmed the AFR's specific figures itself. The bank's spokesperson confirmed it was "considering changes" but did not verify the number of roles affected or expected redundancies, which means the public is relying on reporting rather than the bank's own disclosure for the scale of the cuts.

The plan to consolidate software testing under a "single strategic partner" also raises an obvious question with no public answer yet: who is that partner, and does the arrangement involve moving work offshore? The article does not say, and ANZ has not addressed it.

Finally, there is no timeline. ANZ says this is "an active consultation process," but has not said when it will conclude, how affected staff will be told, or whether the final numbers could be higher or lower than what has been reported.

The other side

ANZ NZ has acknowledged it is reviewing its technology structure and has offered its rationale: pulling together data, AI and engineering functions to work more consistently and make better use of expertise across the wider ANZ group. It has also said the changes are aimed at operating efficiently while continuing to deliver for customers, and that the roles under review are non-customer facing.

The bank has been clear about where its focus sits right now. "Our immediate priority is supporting our people through this process," the spokesperson said, adding that because the matter is in active consultation, "we are unable to comment further at this stage." That is a standard and fair position for an employer partway through a formal staff consultation, where commenting in detail before decisions are final can pre-empt the process itself.

What happens next

The consultation process ANZ has described is still under way, and no final decision on job numbers has been confirmed publicly by the bank. Affected staff will presumably be told the outcome once that process concludes, though ANZ has not said when that will be.

Given the timing, alongside the still unresolved Dunedin contact centre review, staff and observers will be watching whether ANZ issues a fuller account of total job losses across its New Zealand operations once both processes wrap up. Until then, the exact scale of the cuts, and what becomes of the roles not slated for redundancy, remains unclear.