Australia's ANZ Bank to Cut 3,500 Jobs in A$560 Million Restructure — Update

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--ANZ Group will cut more than 8% of its workforce and record almost US$370 million in costs as Australia's fourth-largest bank restructures under its new chief executive.

ANZ on Tuesday said that it expects about 3,500 employees to leave by the end of this month. It said it will also reduce its reliance on consultants and other third-party hires, a move that will affect another 1,000 contractors.

The bank, which is the country's fourth-largest by market capitalization, will record a restructuring charge of about 560 million Australian dollars, or US$369 million, in its accounts for the six months through September.

"We are eliminating duplication and complexity, stopping work that doesn't support our priorities, and sharpening our focus on improving our non-financial risk-management practices," said Chief Executive Nuno Matos, who joined in May.

The cuts effectively reverse a hiring spree that occurred over ANZ's last four full fiscal years. The bank's workforce rose by 10% over that period, which included the Covid-19 pandemic, to the equivalent of 42,370 full-time employees at Sept. 30, 2024.

Rival lenders Westpac and NAB, both of which have a larger market capitalization, had 35,240 and 38,996 respectively, at the same date.

Former HSBC executive Matos replaced the long-serving Shayne Elliott as ANZ's CEO. The group executives of ANZ's retail operations and its tech strategy both retired the following month.

On Tuesday, Matos, who is set to lead a strategy presentation to investors on Oct. 13, said that the staffing changes were already underway.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 08, 2025 19:41 ET (23:41 GMT)