The union has slammed ANZ’s decision to cut roles across several Suncorp Bank divisions, stating chief executive Nuno Matos is “out of control”.
ANZ has confirmed that 197 Suncorp jobs will be impacted with 66 likely to lose their jobs, most based in Brisbane.
The losses come on top of the 3,500 job cuts announced by the big four bank last September under CEO Nuno Matos, along with the already announced dismissal of 1,000 contractors.
ANZ acquired Suncorp Bank in a $4.9 billion takeover in 2024 but at the time of the sale, the Financial Services Union (FSU) said ANZ gave clear undertakings that for three years there would be no net job losses.
It also said the bank committed to no regional ANZ or Suncorp bank closures as well as no cuts to Suncorp branches in Queensland for that same period.
Now, FSU national president, Wendy Streets has said the announced cuts are an insult to those conditions and a disgrace for workers who rely on job security in the finance sector.
“ANZ made big promises to secure approval for the Suncorp acquisition, including commitments to protect jobs and invest in Queensland.
“Now we are seeing workers pay the price. ANZ has said it is complying with its obligations however; we have not seen the evidence to support that claim,” Streets said.
As a response, the union has called on the Federal Government to intervene, urging that the big four bank be held accountable for the commitments it made during the acquisition.
“The government cannot allow a major bank to make binding promises to secure approval and then walk away from them,” Streets said.
ANZ’s path to the Suncorp acquisition has been long and complex, beginning with an agreement to purchase the Queensland-headquartered bank in July 2022.
In August 2023, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) rejected the merger over concerns it would “further entrench an oligopoly market structure” in home loans.
However, after the Australian Competition Tribunal overturned the ACCC’s decision in February 2024, the acquisition was approved, allowing ANZ to expand further into the home loan market while Suncorp focused more on insurance.
The FSU added that the confirmed job losses represent “another example of CEO Nuno Matos being out of control.”
In addition to the job cut announcements, ANZ has faced a series of challenges since Matos took over as chief executive in May last year, succeeding Shayne Elliott.
In September, the firm was ordered to pay a penalty of $240 million for widespread misconduct across its institutional and retail operations, the largest fine from ASIC against a single entity. It has since been upped to $250 million by his Honour Justice Jonathan Beach.
The bank admitted to unconscionable conduct in dealings with the Australian government, misreporting bond trading data by tens of billions of dollars, failing to properly manage customer hardship cases, providing misleading information on savings interest rates, and mishandling deceased estates affecting thousands of customers.
It is also set to defend a court proceeding by Elliott over allegations bonuses of $13.5 million were withheld from him. ANZ had an agreement on the terms of his departure and Elliott claims this agreement was breached when the board, led by Paul O’Sullivan, cancelled his multi-million-dollar bonus.
However, it hasn’t all been bad news for the bank, which posted the strongest share price performance among the big four last year with a 26.6 per cent return.
