Commonwealth Bank will keep 45 customer service roles it had earmarked for review after deploying an AI ‘voice bot’, following a three-week “review”.
The introduction of the bot, which is used to triage inbound calls, led the bank to place the customer service direct roles under review in late July, with the bank noting at the time that, as AI is implemented, “some roles and work can change.”
It has now decided to keep the roles, or to offer redeployment or voluntary exit options for staff.
“CBA’s initial assessment that the 45 roles … were not required did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations, and this error meant the roles were not redundant,” a bank spokesperson told Digital Nation.
“We have apologised to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required.
“We are currently supporting affected employees and have provided them with choice regarding continuing in their current roles, pursuing redeployment within CBA or to proceed with leaving the organisation.
“We are also reviewing our internal processes to improve our approach going forward.”
The Finance Sector Union (FSU), which first raised the case publicly, called the reversal a “massive win for workers”, but warned that “the fight to stop … replacing people in secure jobs with machines is far from over.”
It said in a statement that “more so-called ‘efficiency measures’ dressed up as AI or digital transformation are already in play across the sector.”
FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said that staff “want to be part of the conversation about how new technology is used in banking” and to be offered training as requirements evolve.
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