ANZ Bank Apologises After Premature Redundancy Email to 100+ Staff

Australian bank ANZ prematurely informed more than 100 senior retail bankers of their impending job losses through automated emails requesting the return of their laptops, before formal redundancy announcements were made. The bank and acting retail division head Bruce Rush issued unconditional apologies, expressing regret for the distress caused and emphasizing a commitment to treating affected employees with dignity and respect. Psychological counselling was offered to those impacted, and redundancy discussions were accelerated following the email error. The Financial Sector Union condemned the incident as a disrespectful way to deliver job cuts, attributing the mistake to the rapid changes introduced by new CEO Nuno Matos, who took over in May and is expected to announce a strategic overhaul later this year. ANZ, which serves over 8.5 million customers globally, has faced scrutiny in the past, including investigations into bond sales and executive departures since Matos' appointment. The union has sought urgent briefings from ANZ but had not received a response at the time of reporting.