Commonwealth Bank Redundancies: Workers Claim They Trained the AI Chatbot That Replaced Them
Australian Financial Review
SKIPPED
Details
- Date Published
- 2 Sept 2025
- Priority Score
- 3
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 3 Sept 2025, 03:52 pm
Description
Commonwealth Bank workers say they didn’t realise training a chatbot would cost them their jobs, in the first public comments about the bank’s AI job cuts.
Summary
This article highlights the situation at Commonwealth Bank, where workers claim they unknowingly trained AI chatbots to perform jobs that ultimately led to their own redundancies. The bank initially decided to cut 45 roles in its call centers due to the AI system but later reversed this decision due to workload demands. This incident underscores the potential socioeconomic challenges posed by AI advancements in the workforce. It raises important questions about the ethical and employment impacts of AI adoption, which are crucial for both Australian and global AI governance and policy discussions.
Body
CompaniesFinancial ServicesIndustrial relationsPrint articleEmma McGrath-CohenandDavid Marin-GuzmanSep 3, 2025 – 6.50pmSaveLog inorSubscribeto save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?LoginThe first Australian workers officially made redundant by artificial intelligence say they were training the chatbots that they were eventually told would replace them.Commonwealth Bank revealed in July it would make 45 roles in its customer call centres redundant because of a new bot system it had introduced – beforebackflipping on the decisionlast month after deciding it needed the humans to cope with its growing workloads.Loading...Emma McGrath-Cohenis a journalist for The Australian Financial Review.EmailEmmaatemma.mcgrathcohen@afr.com.auDavid Marin-Guzmanwrites about industrial relations, workplace, policy and leadership from Sydney.Connect withDavidonTwitter.EmailDavidatdavid.marin-guzman@afr.comSaveLog inorSubscribeto save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreFetching latest articlesDion Lee lost his business. He’s backLauren SamsThe one dish worth $1.4m a year to this iconic Sydney restaurantThe CEO who found her mojo when she demoted herselfWhy PwC’s CEO spends every Sunday on AI ‘homework’Hannah TattersallWe’ve run a 4-day week for years. Here’s what nearly killed itThe surprisingly simple dish this top chef eats for breakfastIs this the world’s most accurate mechanical watch?1 hr agoLuke BenedictusThe fashion designer who lost her job and found her dreamWhy the world’s biggest marine company bought a Byron Bay start-upPratt settlement keeps Waislitz in control of Thorney empireMax MasonPub king Arthur Laundy has a court double date‘I’m going to f--- you through the courts’: Inside Tony Denny’s world