ANZ CEO warns AI could cut jobs by up to 50% globally

Nuno Matos, chief executive of ANZ Group, told a parliamentary hearing in Canberra that unchecked adoption of artificial intelligence could prompt widespread layoffs and precipitate an international crisis if job losses reach as much as 50 percent. He urged coordinated regulation at the international level to manage the technology's labour-market effects.

Speaking to lawmakers, Matos said, "If widescale job cuts of up to 50 percent occur, we will face a crisis; a crisis that will not be limited to Australia and will become global. Artificial intelligence is one of the few areas where I believe international regulation is needed to prevent society entering a crisis." He framed his call as a collective responsibility for governments and industry.

The warning came as Australian banks have increased their use of AI tools even as the sector has undergone rounds of job reductions amid difficult economic conditions. The country’s finance union has accused banks of replacing staff with automated systems. Large technology companies have followed a similar path: Canva has cut 22 percent of its workforce, and Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts covering about a quarter of its 223,000 employees as part of a workforce restructure, a point Matos cited when discussing broader labour-market pressures.

Matos said workers need to acquire relevant skills to reduce the risk of displacement and that ANZ is both investing in upskilling its staff and building a central governance platform intended to manage security risks from new tools. "I hope the world and governments can work together to ensure that this technology does not create a social crisis internationally," he told the committee.

He also warned of the technology’s harms. "Artificial intelligence has a dark side. Wide use of this technology without adequate protective measures will be a major problem. No bank should develop it without creating appropriate controls," Matos said, stressing that deployment must be accompanied by robust safeguards.

ANZ currently uses intelligent systems to prevent fraud and to identify cyber-security weaknesses, measures the bank says are designed to keep financial infrastructure resilient against emerging threats while it develops broader governance and controls for AI deployment.