AI drives fresh CommBank job cuts Hundreds reportedly axed from chat support. By Denham Sadler on Jul 30 2026 10:44 AM Print article Hundreds of jobs have reportedly been axed from a CommBank call centre in South Africa. Photo: Shutterstock Hundreds of customer service jobs supporting Commonwealth Bank's chat operations have reportedly been cut as the banking giant expands its use of artificial intelligence to handle customer enquiries. According to Bloomberg, the affected workers were employed by Johannesburg-based outsourcing company Nutun, which supplied contractors for Commonwealth Bank of Australia's online chat service. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said hundreds of chat support roles had been eliminated as AI assumed a greater share of customer interactions. The reported cuts reflect a broader shift across the banking sector as financial institutions increasingly deploy generative AI to automate customer service. Research firm Forrester has forecast that up to half of all customer service roles in the United States could be affected by job losses by 2030 as AI adoption accelerates. Commonwealth Bank has worked closely with Microsoft to build an AI-powered customer service platform capable of triaging and resolving customer enquiries automatically. In late 2024, the bank launched Hey CommBank, which it described as Australia's first generative AI banking chatbot. By May this year, the chatbot was resolving almost nine in every 10 customer conversations without requiring assistance from a human employee. 'Reimagining' customer service In a Microsoft blog post published this month, the technology giant said it had partnered with Commonwealth Bank to "reimagine the future of customer service". Microsoft said it had consolidated the bank's legacy voice, messaging and digital interaction systems into a "single, AI-powered omni-channel platform". The platform delivers a "more intuitive, conversational experience for customers, while supporting frontline teams with better tools to service them", the company said. Built on Microsoft's AI platform, including Copilot, the system now manages more than two million customer conversations each month across voice and messaging channels. The move follows earlier workforce reductions linked to the technology. In August last year, Commonwealth Bank announced it would cut 45 onshore customer service roles as a result of the new platform before reversing the decision, saying the announcement had been made in "error". Earlier this month, the Finance Sector Union said the bank also planned to eliminate a further 176 technology and engineering roles. The union alleged some of those positions were subsequently advertised through Commonwealth Bank's India-based subsidiary. According to the union, around 800 Commonwealth Bank roles were cut during the past year. The trend extends beyond Commonwealth Bank. Bloomberg also reported that Microsoft has reduced its own customer service workforce, comprising employees and contractors, from about 50,000 to 40,000 over recent years. The banking sector has already seen significant workforce reductions. Late last year, ANZ, NAB and Bendigo Bank all announced technology-related redundancies. ANZ alone cut around 3,500 roles globally, including approximately 1,000 contractors, representing about 10 per cent of its workforce. Visa joins wave of job cuts The impact of AI-driven efficiency measures is also being felt across the payments industry. Digital payments giant Visa this week announced it would cut around 7 per cent of its global workforce, affecting about 2,600 employees, primarily in technology and product teams. Visa chief executive Ryan McInerny said the company was focused on improving efficiency. "I have deep conviction that what we are doing is right for Visa, our clients and our partners as we continue to focus on driving efficiency across the company in order to reinvest in our highest potential opportunities," McInerny said in a note to staff. The announcement came just weeks after Mastercard revealed plans to reduce its global workforce by about 4 per cent as it reshapes its investment priorities. Denham Sadler Denham Sadler is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne. He was previously Editor of StartupSmart, and writes on tech and politics. His work has been published in The Saturday Paper and The Guardian. Tags: ai commbank jobs chatbot