ANZ will slash thousands of jobs in the coming 12 months as part of a plan to “simplify” the bank and “strengthen its focus”.

In a release today, the bank said it expected to farewell 3500 employees by September 2026.

It promised to treat employees with “care and respect” and to move through the process as quickly as possible.

ANZ, which has a market capitalisation of $98.3 billion, said there would be “limited impact” on frontline roles that involved interaction with customers.

“We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff,” ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos said.

“While some of these changes have already commenced, we are committed to working through the impacts as quickly and safely as we can, with both care and respect for our teams affected.”

Departing staff will be offered support including career advice, access to training, and individual support.

The bank also pledged to engage with employees and “relevant” unions.

“We are operating in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive banking environment,” Matos said.

“As we continue our strategic review, we are eliminating duplication and complexity, stopping work that doesn’t support our priorities, and sharpening our focus on improving our non-financial risk management practices across the bank.”