National Australia Bank (NAB) is expanding its offshore workforce in Vietnam and India while cutting jobs across its Australian operations, a move drawing criticism from employees and unions. The bank announced plans last week to eliminate 2,500 roles as part of a cost-cutting drive amid slower loan demand. At the same time, NAB aims to add at least 180 new positions in its offshore centers, with many more possible in the near future.
Currently, NAB employs over 7,000 workers in Vietnam and India, with most onboarded in the past five years. The bank has developed programs such as NAB StarCamp, a technology internship launched in 2021 in its Vietnam innovation center. The rolling 12-week program recruits recent university graduates for hands-on technical training under mentorship, with intake sessions every three months. The majority of participants—more than 90 percent—secure employment with NAB after completing the course. Approximately 700 graduates have passed through StarCamp, where interns earn about $600 per month, a fraction of the cost of employing junior software engineers in Australia.
In Melbourne, NAB operates a similar but smaller internship program, taking in about 40 interns last year. The upcoming 10-week cohort will host around 10 to 20 graduates. However, overall graduate numbers in Australia appear to be declining as the bank shifts its technology focus offshore.
Internally, the 2,500 job cuts are expected to primarily affect Australian staff in departments including strategy, IT, transformation, compliance, risk, and people and culture. About 1,500 of these roles are scheduled to be eliminated by mid-December. Frontline positions, such as branch roles, are likely to be spared. Sources within the bank indicated offshore jobs in India and Vietnam are not anticipated to be impacted by the current round of cuts.
Industry insiders suggest NAB’s offshore labor expansion is a strategic step toward greater adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). As AI technologies mature, the bank may eventually reduce its reliance on offshore technology workers, enabling it to avoid redundancies among Australian staff related to automation in future restructuring phases.
The job cuts announcement triggered a negative market reaction, with NAB’s shares closing at $41.31 following the news. CEO Andrew Irvine indicated the restructuring would cost the bank approximately $300 million in pre-tax redundancy expenses during 2026-27.
Unions have strongly condemned the restructuring. The Financial Sector Union (FSU) described the job cuts as “despicable,” criticizing the bank for its handling of the process and for keeping employees uninformed. The union has lodged a dispute, demanding a response from NAB by Monday. FSU national assistant secretary Nicole McPherson accused management of devaluing its workforce and described the bank’s public statements as “corporate spin.”
Despite the ongoing job reductions in Australia, NAB Vietnam continued to advertise new roles, including senior engineering positions, on the day the cuts were announced.