Former Commonwealth Bank of Australia customer service representative Kathryn Sullivan made waves when she recently stood up. After discovering that she was likely to lose her job to automation technologies, including her bank’s “Bumblebee” chatbot, she challenged her superiors. In late July, the Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s most valuable public company, made the decision to make 45 customer service roles redundant, including Sullivan’s. Employees and former employees and unions are justly alarmed by this step. In retaliation, the Finance Sector Union has pre-emptively filed an action in front of the Fair Work Commission.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has about 37,000 employees nationwide. Led by Chief Executive Matt Comyn, the bank is equally strong offshore with more than 6,800 strong workforce in India. Interestingly, 3,000 of these employees in India are tasked with fighting financial crimes on behalf of the bank. The bank operates an advanced technology center in Seattle. Each year, some 200 Australian personnel journey there to hone their skills and adopt the latest cutting-edge technological developments.
Sullivan’s experience points to a larger disturbing trend across the banking sector. Now more than ever, companies are relying on emerging technologies to meet customer expectations. The state of customer service Customers have begun to demand 24/7 support, leading banks to roll out chatbots such as Bumblebee to better field customer inquiries. Sullivan has spent years training this chatbot, getting it to respond to customers’ inquiries in such a way that it seemed her redundancy was especially cruel.
Addressing the layoffs in a separate statement, Comyn acknowledged the difficult choices ahead. He had the humility to recognize the very real stakes these decisions have on employees’ lives. The Commonwealth Bank promised the displaced workers, like Sullivan, to keep them in the bank but in various positions. Employees believe these types of measures still fall short of addressing their concerns over job security as automation continues to grow.
The Finance Sector Union’s intervention is a sign of increasing alarm over the loss of jobs due to automation in the banking industry. As companies like the Commonwealth Bank navigate the balance between efficiency and employee welfare, discussions surrounding redundancies and automation remain at the forefront of industry conversations.
