CBA Chief Warns Against False Promises on AI Job Losses
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has called for honesty about artificial intelligence's impact on employment, saying employers have a responsibility to avoid reassuring workers that their roles will remain unchanged.
"Pretending every role can be preserved would not be fair either," Comyn wrote in a contributed piece for the Australian Financial Review. "An employer of our scale has a responsibility to avoid false reassurance and give people the best possible chance to adapt."
The comments come as CBA hosts its first Accelerate AI conference in Sydney, bringing together 800 customers, technologists, policymakers, and AI builders to examine how organizations can deploy the technology effectively.
CBA's Recent Reversal
Comyn's statement carries weight given the bank's recent history. Last year, CBA reversed a decision to eliminate 45 customer service roles after acknowledging its initial assessment "did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations."
In his article, Comyn acknowledged that AI would create "workforce consequences throughout the economy." Some tasks will be automated, some roles will shrink in number, and others will grow. Many positions may appear similar on the surface even as the underlying tasks and required skills shift significantly.
"It is easier to foresee which parts of today's work may disappear than to imagine all the new work that may be created," Comyn said.
Strength Versus Cost-Cutting
Comyn drew a distinction between using AI to build organizational strength and using it simply to reduce headcount. "There is a crucial distinction between building a stronger organisation and simply making it smaller," he said.
He warned that cutting staff as a means to accelerate change risks weakening institutional capability if workers are not brought along in the process. "The better question is whether AI is being used to make an organisation stronger, or merely to strip out costs," Comyn said.
CBA's Workforce Program
At CBA, the bank has committed $90 million to a Future Workforce Programme. The initiative offers workers early visibility into how roles are changing, reskilling pathways, and opportunities to move into different positions internally.
Over 27,600 employees have engaged with the bank's internal AI learning series since its launch earlier this year.
Comyn said workers who combine customer understanding, risk judgment, curiosity, and the ability to direct AI systems will become more valuable. "Our job is to help more people get there," he said.
CBA currently invests $2.4 billion annually in technology and capability - at least $500 million more per year than other major Australian banks, Comyn said.
For HR professionals managing workforce transitions, understanding both the risks and opportunities AI presents is essential. Resources like AI for Human Resources and the AI Learning Path for CHROs provide frameworks for developing reskilling programs and managing organizational change effectively.
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