ANZ cuts 400 NZ tech jobs as major banks shift IT roles offshore

ANZ, New Zealand's largest bank, has begun cutting 400 technology jobs as part of a sweeping restructure that will reshape how the institution manages its IT operations. The bank expects roughly 100 of those positions to become redundant outright, with the remainder facing redeployment or other changes. The move sits within a larger commitment ANZ chief Nuno Matos made last September: to eliminate 3500 jobs across the organization by September 2026. At the time, Matos framed the cuts as necessary medicine. "My ambition is for ANZ to be the best bank for our customers, while ensuring we sustainably meet the performance expected over the long-term," he said, acknowledging the pain ahead. "We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff."

The New Zealand operation employs roughly 8000 people, making it a significant portion of ANZ's global workforce of about 40,000. What makes the New Zealand cuts particularly stark is the counterweight: according to the Australian Financial Review, ANZ has simultaneously expanded its core operations and technology hubs in India and the Philippines to a combined 11,500 staff. The arithmetic is clear—jobs are being eliminated in one place and built in another, where labor costs are substantially lower.

ANZ is not alone in this shift. Commonwealth Bank has informed 232 technology staff that their roles will disappear by the end of 2026, according to the Finance Sector Union. The union also noted that CBA has already shed 1000 workers this year, even as the bank reported $11 billion in annual profit. National secretary Julia Angrisano called the cuts "savage," and pointed to a separate announcement that CBA chief Matt Comyn's compensation would rise 30 percent to $9.1 million as evidence of misaligned priorities. "There will never be a profit margin big enough to satisfy Australia's richest bank," she said.

The pattern extends across the sector. National Australia Bank has hired 1000 staff in India and Vietnam while cutting 400 local jobs. CBA has also been expanding its Indian workforce. In July, Insignia Financial—partly owned by US software company SS & C Technologies—cut 170 jobs in operations, technology, and delivery, with the FSU noting that SS & C would perform those roles from Thailand and India. Bendigo Bank signed deals with global tech firms Infosys and Genpact, raising concerns that IT work would follow the same offshore path. Even Kmart, the retail giant, quietly shed technology department roles, though the exact number remains unclear.

Banks defend the moves as necessary adaptations to changing business conditions. A CBA spokesperson said the institution "regularly reviews how its teams are organised as customer needs, technology and how we work continue to evolve," and emphasized its priority to "support our people to build the skills needed for new opportunities." Kmart similarly framed its cuts as part of "normal course of managing the business" and efforts to "simplify ways of working and manage costs."

But the Finance Sector Union sees a different picture: a coordinated shift by Australia's largest financial institutions to reduce domestic technology workforces and consolidate that work in lower-cost jurisdictions. The trend is not limited to banking—it reflects a broader movement across industries to offshore IT roles that were once considered core to Australian operations. For the workers affected, the distinction between redeployment and redundancy may matter little. For the institutions making these decisions, the math is straightforward: maintain profitability and shareholder returns by moving labor-intensive work to places where it costs less to perform.