NAB Expands India and Vietnam Workforce as Australian Layoffs Continue

The Indian and Vietnamese branches of National Australia Bank (NAB) intend to increase their workforce by over a thousand people. The move comes as Australian banks maintain their trend of outsourcing engineering and technology positions while laying off workers in the country. Media outlets in Australia have reported that NAB already employs over 7,000 people in technology and operational hubs across Asia.

Reports further added that this development will enhance their presence in these areas. The timing of the move is particularly delicate for the Australian banking industry. Major Australian lenders are cutting domestic jobs as they seek to rein in costs, digitise their operations, and reorganise based on technological factors. The bank refers to the operations as "innovation centres", and a significant number of employees are employed in software engineering, technology support, and other IT-related positions.

Expanding Network of NAB in India and Vietnam

In the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Gurugram, National Australia Bank employs five thousand people. In addition, it has about 2,000 employees in Vietnam's capitals of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The bank's LinkedIn page states that in March and April, 100 employees were hired in Vietnam. Approximately 18% of NAB's overall workforce consists of the 7,000 personnel.

Over the course of two days in March, NAB CEO Andrew Irvine and his group executive team paid a visit to the Indian operations. While some of NAB's expansion in Asia has resulted from "in-sourcing" capabilities that were previously outsourced to contractors, the bank has also increased its personnel in Australia during the last five years.

NAB Facing Backlash From Labour Unions

Unions in the financial industry and others representing workers have spoken out against the growth of offshore hiring. According to Nicole McPherson, national assistant secretary of the Finance Sector Union, it is absurd to suggest that Australia does not have enough qualified professionals, particularly in the fields of technology and engineering. Furthermore, she emphasised that these are the very positions that are being eliminated in the current wave of massive layoffs in the financial industry.

Expanding offshore might affect more than only Australia's workers and economy, according to McPherson. The topic has grown more contentious as financial institutions try to strike a balance between digital transformation and the demands of their shareholders to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Industry experts worry that the long-term cost advantages may erode if offshore expansion continues unabated. A number of years ago, it was said that graduates from technological institutions in Bengaluru and other Indian cities may be employed at wages that were substantially lower than comparable positions in Australia. On the other hand, as multinational banks and technology companies ramp up their recruitment efforts in India, competition for qualified engineers has heated up significantly.