ANZ apologizes after automated layoff emails sent to staff

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group apologised on Thursday after more than 100 senior bankers were inadvertently told to return their laptops in an automated email before managers had informed them that their roles were being cut. The emails were sent ahead of schedule on Wednesday to staff in ANZ’s retail division, prompting the bank to halt the mailings, call a virtual meeting and hold one-to-one conversations with affected employees, the bank said.

Bruce Rush, acting head of ANZ’s retail division, acknowledged the error in an internal message, saying, "It was not our intention to share such sensitive news with you in this way, and I apologise unconditionally." He added, "Unfortunately, these emails indicate an exit date for some of our colleagues before we’ve been able to share their outcome with them." The bank said it has offered psychological counselling to the employees impacted and is investigating how the automated notices were dispatched prematurely.

Accounts differ slightly on the timeline of follow-up conversations. Reports suggested that formal discussions about the planned redundancies had initially been scheduled for next week but were accelerated after the...