A group of ANZ employees discovered they were being made redundant before they were officially informed due to an email blunder.
Staff were meant to be notified during scheduled meetings with their managers.
Instead, they received automated emails detailing the process for returning their work-issued laptops, implying their employment had already ended.
The emails were mistakenly sent out ahead of the meetings, prompting ANZ to issue an apology and offer psychological support to affected employees.
A crisis meeting attended by around 300 staff was held earlier this week.
While not all attendees were made redundant, the meeting was open to employees at the same managerial level.
It remains unclear how many staff received the premature emails, but ANZ confirmed it manually halted further emails once the error was identified.
Bruce Rush, ANZ’s Acting Group Executive for Australia Retail, issued a formal apology following the incident.
ANZ staff were sent an email about returning their laptop before being told they were sacked
‘A few weeks ago, I announced changes to our leadership structure in Australia Retail,’ Rush said.
‘Earlier today, automated emails were sent to some Group 2 and 3 individuals ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, these emails indicate an exit date for some of our colleagues before we’ve been able to share their outcome with them.
‘It was not our intention to share such sensitive news with you in this way, and I apologise unconditionally.’
Rush acknowledged the distress caused and assured staff that the bank is committed to handling the process with care.
‘I deeply regret the distress this situation may have caused. Please know that we are committed to treating every colleague with dignity and respect as we move through this process,’ he said.
‘Thank you for your understanding and patience during this difficult time.’
Following the email mishap, impacted staff had their meetings rescheduled to the same day, where they were officially informed of their redundancy.
The restructure comes amid sweeping changes under new CEO Nuno Matos, with internal staff referring to the overhaul as ‘Nuno-geddon.’
The jobs were lost as part of CEO Nuno Matos’ restructure, known internally as ‘Nuno-geddon’
Matos had warned employees in a recent town hall to expect significant cuts, with up to 2,000 roles expected to be axed across the business.
In a statement to Daily Mail, an ANZ spokesperson confirmed the job losses and addressed the email error.
‘Unfortunately, some senior employees in Australia received automated emails prior to being informed of potential changes to their employment.
‘We are committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect, particularly when implementing changes to our organisational structure. We deeply regret the mistake made and have apologised unconditionally to our staff impacted.’
Finance Sector Union President Wendy Streets told the Sydney Morning Herald that ANZ had not yet spoken to the union about the email debacle.
‘This is a disgusting way for workers to learn about job cuts, through a botched email instead of a respectful conversation,’ Streets said.
