2 weeks ago
4
The Bank of Queensland is set to shed up to 200 jobs through a new partnership with a tech firm that will result in Australian roles moved offshore or replaced with AI.
BOQ informed the Australian Stock Exchange last week that of its “strategic partnership” with French IT company Capgemini, which would include agentic artificial intelligence services – a form of AI that can make decisions and perform tasks without human intervention.
“The partnership is expected to lower BOQ’s cost to serve, further supporting BOQ’s ability to compete with sustainable returns in an increasingly commoditised market,” the bank said in its update to the ASX.
The Bank of Queensland is replacing call centre staff with artificial intelligence.Credit: Peter Wallis
“BOQ anticipates realising annualised cost savings of at least $30 million, expected to be achieved from FY27, with the consolidation of external service providers driving the majority of the expected benefits.”
A similar move by the Commonwealth Bank was reversed last month, admitting it should have been “more thorough” in its assessment that human jobs could be replaced by AI chatbots.
On Monday, the Finance Sector Union estimated about 200 BOQ jobs would be lost through the partnership via AI and outsourcing overseas.
Those jobs would include 165 in the BOQ call centre in Melbourne. The rest would be in collections, retail, lending and audit roles.
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said the partnership highlighted the threat to workers from automation and AI.
“BOQ staff deserve honesty and respect, not to be blindsided about the future of their jobs,” she said.
“We warned that once CBA opened the door to outsourcing and AI, the other banks would follow and BOQ’s decision proves we were right.”
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano.
In addition to the threat of AI, Angrisano said call centre workers’ jobs would be outsourced to a Capgemini base in India.
“When customers pick up the phone to speak to their bank, they expect to speak to a BOQ worker who knows their account and their community, not a contractor overseas with no connection to the bank,” she said.
“This is a race to the bottom with fewer secure jobs for workers in Australia and poorer service for customers.
“Once one bank moves the others follow.”
Loading
A BOQ Group spokesman said bank’s digital acceleration via the Capgemini partnership would deliver a faster, simpler and more personalised banking experience for customers.
“Our new service model ensures that our customers’ simple requests are handled more quickly and efficiently,” he said.
“This is in line with what customers are telling us is their priority.
“While some roles will transition to specialist global teams, BOQ is committed to minimising disruption for affected team members through upskilling, redeployment, and providing priority access to other roles.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in Business
Loading
