SYDNEY, Australia — National Australia Bank is proposing changes that would put about 170 Australian jobs at risk while expanding roles in India and Vietnam, according to the Finance Sector Union. The union says the plan would make 447 roles redundant, create 277 new onshore positions and add 237 offshore jobs as NAB reshapes part of its business division, March 26, 2026.
According to Reuters, the 170-job figure comes from the union’s breakdown of the proposed changes, while NAB has framed the overhaul as part of building a “modern workforce” and has not publicly confirmed the full numerical impact in the same detail.
In comments carried by ABC, NAB said it would continue to hire and develop people in Australia, “especially in customer-facing roles,” and said it was continuing discussions with the union as the consultation process unfolds.
What the NAB job cuts proposal includes
At the centre of the dispute is not just the net loss of about 170 Australian roles, but the structure of the move itself. The union says hundreds of local positions would disappear or change while NAB simultaneously expands staffing offshore, raising fresh questions about how much skilled banking work the lender wants to place outside Australia.
That offshore build-out is not new. On NAB’s Global Innovation Centres page, the bank says its India and Vietnam operations help run technology and operations work end-to-end in house. In its 2025 full-year results presentation, NAB also says India and Vietnam provide access to critical skills, suggesting the current proposal fits an existing strategy rather than a sudden change in direction.
NAB job cuts fit a longer restructuring pattern
The latest proposal looks less like a one-off decision and more like another chapter in a longer workforce reset. In September 2025, Reuters reported that NAB cut 410 jobs in Australia while creating 127 roles in India and Vietnam in its technology and enterprise operations.
The pattern reaches back further. In August 2023, Reuters reported NAB was preparing to cut around 60 jobs in its markets division as part of a broader restructuring exercise. Taken together, those earlier moves and NAB’s own published material point to a bank that has been steadily redrawing where functions sit and how its Australian and offshore teams are expected to work together.
That is why this latest round is likely to resonate beyond the headline number. Even if consultations alter the final tally, the proposal has become another test of how far a major Australian bank can expand offshore capability while maintaining that it is still investing in its domestic workforce.
