Commonwealth Bank of Australia has reversed its decision to eliminate 45 contact center positions after discovering that its AI-driven “voice-bot,” intended to streamline customer interactions, actually resulted in an increase in workload for its human staff.
In July, the bank announced its plans to cut jobs, asserting that advancements in technology, particularly AI, were enhancing the efficiency of customer support in its call centers. However, the Finance Sector Union challenged this assertion, claiming the introduction of the new voice-bot did not decrease call volumes as suggested. Instead, the union reported that call volumes were rising, compelling the bank to offer overtime and direct team leaders to take calls themselves.
Acknowledging the mistake, CommBank has now admitted that the layoffs were an “error” and has issued an apology to the employees affected. The bank indicated that it “did not adequately consider all relevant business factors” prior to the announcement and recognized the need for a more comprehensive evaluation of staffing requirements.
The impacted employees now have the option to remain in their positions, pursue redeployment, or leave CommBank altogether. While the Finance Sector Union termed the decision to rescind the layoffs a significant victory, they noted that the situation has already caused distress for the 45 individuals involved.
Despite this setback, CommBank remains committed to its AI initiatives and recently announced a multi-year partnership with OpenAI, granting its employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise.