More than 100 senior retail bankers at ANZ have prematurely learnt of their exit date in an email requesting they return their laptop, before the redundancies were formally announced.
“Unfortunately, some senior employees in Australia received automated emails prior to being informed of potential changes to their employment,” said an ANZ spokesperson. “We deeply regret the mistake made and have apologised unconditionally to our staff impacted.”
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Bruce Rush, ANZ’s interim retail bank chief, apologised to the staff affected in a statement seen by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“A few weeks ago, I announced changes to our leadership structure in Australia Retail,” Rush said. “Earlier today, automated emails were sent to some Group 2 and 3 individuals ahead of schedule.”
“It was not our intention to share such sensitive news with you in this way, and I apologise unconditionally,” he said. “Unfortunately, these emails indicate an exit date for some of our colleagues before we’ve been able to share their outcome with them.”
Rush added: “I deeply regret the distress this situation may have caused. Please know that we are committed to treating every colleague with dignity and respect as we move through this process.”
The bank has offered psychological counselling to the affected staff. Meetings that had been scheduled for next week were accelerated and the redundancies confirmed.
Australia’s Finance Sector Union national president Wendy Streets said it had not been briefed on changes.
“This is a disgusting way for workers to learn about job cuts — through a botched email instead of a respectful conversation,” Streets told the HRD website. “It’s devastating for staff and their families to be treated this way. ANZ must do better.”
The FSU said it had written to ANZ requesting an urgent briefing, but had yet to receive a response.
In May, a former chief executive of HSBC in the UK, Nuno Matos, became the new CEO at ANZ, which employs 43,000 people and has more than 8 million retail and business customers.
Matos has implemented sweeping changes at the bank, leading to a recovery in its share price following various scandals, including alleged bond rigging and incidents of drunken behaviour on its trading floor.
Streets added that the email error was “the direct result of the chaotic pace of change being forced through by ANZ’s new CEO”.
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