Australia’s largest bank has refused to make a “blanket commitment” to staff that artificial intelligence won’t take their jobs.
During Commonwealth Bank’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, staff voiced their displeasure about a lack of job security.
Commonwealth Bank chair Paul O’Malley faced repeated questions about the 1000 staff who lost their job over the year due to operational restructures, automation, and technology shifts.
“There’s no ability to give a blanket commitment to any individual or to the nation. We are seeing competition today come from tech firms outside of Australia who are deploying AI and taking Australian businesses out of the value chain,” Mr O’Malley said.
“We are committed to supporting our employees, benefiting from their contribution to all of our stakeholders, and making sure that we underpin and invest in their ability to build their capabilities and experience.”
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn said artificial intelligence was playing a key role for the company, citing the example of it copying human voices to deter scammers.
“We believe AI could be the most significant technology shift we have seen. It presents an opportunity to improve productivity, strengthen services and help make Australia more capable and Australians more prosperous,” he said.
“As customers increasingly use AI to search, compare, decide and transact, we believe the value of a trusted primary relationship will increase.”
Mr O’Malley said it was a challenging environment and technology was rapidly changing, meaning he could not guarantee every job going forward.
He also noted the bank’s importance in the Australian economy and for communities and businesses nationwide and said 50,000 staff members helped to fulfil this vital role.
Staff also questioned Mr O’Malley about security obligations and the risk of managing sensitive financial data overseas, as a new centre in India is being used to fight financial crimes and fulfil the bank’s cyber security obligations.
“We’ve got great capability in Australia, but the risk and opportunity to do better in cyber requires us to invest in skills and capabilities and we’re doing that absolutely substantively in Australia,” he said.
Mr O’Malley said the bank needed complementary skills from around the world, meaning it needed to hire staff overseas.
Union, bank strike a deal
The Finance Sector Union’s questions follow a deal with the CBA for its lowest-paid workers to receive a 13 per cent pay increase over three years.
FSU acting national secretary Nicole McPherson said CBA’s previous below-inflation pay offers were insulting to workers and only motivated them to demand a fairer share of the profits they helped to create.
“This new offer from CBA is a reminder that no institution is powerful enough to resist workers who are organised and determined to get a fair deal – even if that institution posts a record $11bn profit,” Ms McPherson said.
Mr O’Malley said the bank had a responsibility to the nation, communities and individual businesses and none of this could be achieved without staff.
The union’s comments follow the bank’s August results that showed a 15 per cent drop in mortgage applications since the May 12 federal budget.
Despite mortgage downturns, Commonwealth Bank’s profits were a bumper $10.9bn earlier this year. Investors also received a $2.70 dividend per share.