National Australia Bank (NAB) is removing about 3,200 roles, according to The Australian Financial Review (AFR).

The figure is higher than the 2,500 NAB job cuts announced last week. Affected staff must apply for other roles within the bank or accept redundancy.

The bank aims to remove these roles before Christmas. By 16 December, 1,500 employees are set to leave, and a further 1,000 positions will be cut in early 2027.

Internal figures seen by the AFR show about 1,200 of these roles are in technology and AI teams.

Transformation and operations teams will lose 780, while the private and business banks will each lose 400. Bank tellers are largely exempt.

Some senior executives have already left. They include chief audit executive Michael Pocock and Anthony Hope, who oversaw anti-money laundering and fraud risk.

Chief executive Andrew Irvine linked the decision to a slowing economy and weaker housing and business conditions.

He said these factors had weighed on customer confidence, so the bank needed to reduce its costs.

Several investors view the cuts as overdue. Matthew Haupt, portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management, noted that NAB’s workforce had grown by about 30 percent in five years.

He said NAB, like ANZ, may now face a multi-year restructuring process.

Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Wiles estimates the plan could save up to A$450 million a year. These savings would follow a one-off cost of A$300 million in 2026-27.

Staff who choose voluntary redundancy will leave on 2 December. Those not selected for new roles will leave on 16 December.

The changes come ahead of NAB’s full-year results, due on 5 November.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Australia, based on image by National Australia Bank (NAB) via its website.