Artificial intelligence will ‘redefine the geography’ of work. We are being left behind

National

AI

Opinion

Shumi Akhtar Economics professor Updated September 12, 2025 — 5.27pm first published at 3.30pm

Australia’s banking sector has just offered a glimpse into the future of work – and it’s a future many employees will find unsettling. ANZ’s decision to cut 3500 jobs and 1000 contractors, followed by NAB’s move to slash 410 roles and shift more work offshore, is not simply another round of cost-cutting. It is a signal of how artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation are reshaping the labour market with extraordinary speed and precision.

For ANZ, the restructure under new chief executive Nuno Matos is framed as a bid for efficiency and competitiveness. But beneath the corporate language lies a reality: automation and AI are hollowing out roles once