Commonwealth Bank

Financial Context

Illustrative wage differential: if the 10,000+ reported offshore roles were instead employed in Australia at average local rates, the additional cost could be in the order of ~$850M/yr (~8.4% of reported net profit). This is an estimate based on industry averages, not company-specific data.

Would this company be profitable without offshoring?

Financial data: FY2025. Estimate uses avg AU cost of $110,000+/yr (salary only, excluding super, office, recruitment) vs offshore $25,000/yr (salary + on-costs). Actual figures vary by role, seniority, and location.

In Plain English

• In 2025, Commonwealth Bank was reported to have 10,000+ offshore contractors and staff.
• This represents ~22.5% when compared to its current workforce of 44,500 (illustrative comparison only — not directly reported by the company).
• 🇮🇳 7,588+ staff reported in India in Engineering, Back Office, IT.
• Known outsourcing partners include Accenture, Infosys, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, IBM, HCL Technologies, McKinsey.
• 300 Australian jobs have been cut, with all occurring during periods of offshore expansion.

Based on data from public sources at the dates reported. Figures may not reflect current headcount. See sources below for full attribution.

The Story

• August 2019CBA poached Pankajam Sridevi, who had run ANZ's Bangalore operations (5,000 ops + 2,000 tech staff) for 12 years, to be its first Indian managing director. At the time CBA had TCS ($140M contract) and HCL Technologies ($120M contract) as major Indian vendors. Industry experts said the hire 'strongly indicated CBA was planning to expand operations in India in a similar fashion to ANZ.' [Australian Financial Review]
• June 2023CBA had 3,500 staff in a business park in Bangalore, seeking new premises to expand to 5,000. The AFR reported CBA was 'seeking an option on a lease that could expand headcount to 10,000 people down the track.' CBA poached ANZ's top Indian executive Pankajam Sridevi to build up operations. [Australian Financial Review]
• March 2022CBA moved approximately 100 technology, compliance, and service roles offshore to India. [iTnews]
• June 2025CBA's India workforce reached 6,788 — a 138% increase since 2022. Of 2,000 IT engineers hired in the preceding 12 months, 700 were in Bangalore. [The Australia Today]
• March-May 2025CBA cut approximately 300 Australian jobs across retail banking, business/institutional banking, and HR. 164 technology roles were cut in March alone. [The Australia Today]
• July 2025The FSU (Finance Sector Union) accused CBA of breaching its Enterprise Agreement by "hiring for the same job, at their own Indian subsidiary" after making Australian workers redundant. [Information Age]
• July 2025CBA posted half-year cash profit of $5.13 billion. [The Australia Today]
• August 2025FSU forced CBA to reverse its decision to cut 45 jobs that were to be replaced by an AI chatbot. [Australian Financial Review]
• October 2025Fair Work Commission ordered CBA to improve transparency after the FSU found the bank was advertising near-identical roles in India while making 283 Australians redundant. CBA removed 30 India job ads with the same titles as roles being cut in Australia. FWC identified 2 roles being made redundant that were simultaneously being performed in India. India headcount reached 6,788 — up 21% in one year and 33% over three years — while Australian jobs fell 1%. [Australian Financial Review]
• 2025CBA signed a lease for 1.4 million sq ft of office space in India via Embassy REIT — enough for 10,000+ workers. UBS analyst John Storey cited 'pressure to move jobs back onshore' as a potential risk for unexpected cost increases. [Inductus GCC Report / Economic Times]

All facts sourced from public reporting. No editorial commentary. Click source links to verify.