Thousands of jobs across two of Australia's big four banks have been slashed this week, following a concerning trend of redundancies across the sector.
Now, experts are warning that everyday Australian customers will pay the price.
Several banks have announced mass job cuts over the last 12 months in a bid to boost earnings, combat operating costs, manage workforce changes and embrace digitisation.
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Bank of Queensland (BOQ) axed 400 roles late last year, then announced plans to shut 14 branches across Australia less than six months later.
Westpac has reportedly cut around 1000 jobs already and is considering axing more than 1500 more positions.
July saw Bendigo Bank announce 10 branch closures across three states and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) cut 45 call centre jobs after rolling out an AI chatbot to deal with customer inquiries.
Now ANZ has announced it's cutting 3500 full-time roles and 1000 contractor jobs, while NAB shed 410 jobs and moved 127 more overseas.
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"I think we should be concerned," Today money expert Joel Gibson told 9news.com.au.
"If you've found it difficult already to get good customer service from your bank, imagine what it will be like without hundreds or thousands of the humans who currently work at the bank."
CBA's AI chatbot rollout sparked concern among customers, who worry it won't be as effective as speaking to a real person.
But Gibson predicted that Aussies will have to increasingly rely on chatbots, AI agents and digital banking tools if banks keep culling human workers.
"And yet I don't expect we'll see the lower cost base passed onto us in the form of lower fees," he said.
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Finance Sector Union (FSU) national president Wendy Streets said AI is changing the banking industry landscape in some "concerning" ways.
But she and innovation and technology expert from The University of Queensland Dr Evan Shellshear agreed that AI alone isn't to blame for mass layoffs.
"Out of all the banks, only CBA has explicitly stated that AI was used as a justification and it's not clear whether AI was a scapegoat here or not," Shellshear said.
"So I don't think AI is the major driving factor."
While some tasks within the banking sector could be automated using AI tools, other skills – like communication, collaboration, creativity and management – can't be.
That's why some banks have chosen to send jobs offshore, but Streets warned it could raise data privacy concerns.
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"Customers need to be asking their bank where their data actually sits," she said.
"Where does it go, if it's going offshore?
"We believe customers should be made aware of that, and should have a choice about whether their data actually goes offshore.
"We have privacy legislation in Australia, but lots of the countries where our banks set up other centres, they don't have the same level of privacy legislation."
Thought must also be given to the thousands of Australians who have been put out of jobs by some of the most profitable businesses in the country.
Banking was already a competitive industry and layoffs across multiple banks will only make it harder for recently unemployed staff to find new roles in the cost-of-living crisis.
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Instead of cutting jobs to cut costs, Streets wants to see Australian banks invest in their employees.
That means upskilling existing staff to work alongside AI tools and helping them adapt to industry changes rather than sending their roles offshore.
"Our big four banks are in the top 10 of the ASX, they are globally successful companies that make in excess of $30 billion in profit year in and year out," Streets said.
"There is no excuse for them to put good, experienced workers on the unemployment line. It's just not good enough."
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