NAB reported to be sacking 300 IT workers: Jobs - News Trends

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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NAB reported to be sacking 300 IT workers

By AAP
November 16, 2004
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/jobs/news_trends/soa/NAB-reported-to-be-sacking-300-IT-workers/0,130056653,139166804,00.htm

Union officials are seeking an urgent meeting with the National Australia Bank (NAB) after reports the bank was moving to sack 300 IT workers in an effort to cut costs.

The Australian Financial Review today reported the NAB was planning to slash hundreds of jobs from its technology group in the wake of the more than AU$400 million worth of software write-offs, announced along with a slump in annual profit last week.

The bank has already announced the suspension of work on its back office IT system, Integrated Systems Implementation (ISI).

But the Financial Review today reported the NAB was also planning to scrap its division-oriented approach to IT and replace it with a regional structure.

The paper reported the group IT division in Melbourne was expected to be hardest hit by the job cuts, but all divisions would be affected.

Financial Sector Union spokesman Rod Massen said the union was seeking a meeting with the bank today to confirm any proposed job cuts.

Massen said the union was disappointed to see the NAB moving to scrap jobs in its IT division.

"The disappointing thing in this is that the NAB have, over a period of time, taken a bit of a different line towards IT, in trying to keep it in house," he said.

"We think that's been a sound strategy in terms of them investing in that area."

Analysts have been expecting NAB to move to restructure its IT operations in the wake of last week's announcement and chief executive John Stewart is reported to have indicated he plans to reduce overall expenditure on IT.

The Financial Review reported a NAB spokeswoman had confirmed there would be an announcement this week and that the bank was "aligning technology to the new regional operating model".

The NAB did not return calls this morning.

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