ANZ Group's (ANZ.AX), opens new tab new CEO Nuno Matos warned of more "ugly" changes to come at the Australian lender after the announcement of 3,500 job cuts on Tuesday, but said the decisions would safeguard its future growth.
The bank said it would take a A$560 million ($369 million) restructuring charge, following one of the largest rounds of job cuts in the sector in recent years.
ANZ, which at 43,000 employees has a bigger workforce than its larger rivals Westpac (WBC.AX), opens new tab and National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), opens new tab, said it would also sack 1,000 contractors and review consultants and third-party contractor agreements.
The job cuts to take place by next September are the first major changes ordered by Matos, who joined ANZ in May after previously heading HSBC's (HSBA.L), opens new tab personal banking and wealth operations.
ANZ is the smallest of Australia's "Big Four" banks based on its market valuation and its share price has lagged rivals over the past 12 months.
"I hate to do this but it's for the future of the company," Matos said of the job cuts at the Financial Review Asia Summit in Sydney. "Those decisions are very tough to take. We don't want to take them because they're going to impact people, our people, their families, and it should be the last resort."