Australia’s biggest bank is having to hire back 45 staff after making a shambolic U-turn over claims their jobs had been automated. The employees at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) had their roles deemed redundant in November after the bank claimed that AI had cut down incoming calls. But according to the Finance Sector Union (FSU), which represents some of the affected workers, that claim was incorrect, and the jobs had been backfilled as of this week.

CBA announced the redundancies in a move that reportedly caught dozens of long-serving employees by surprise. Most were told their positions were not needed thanks to the bank’s new “voice bot”, a call center artificial intelligence tool that reportedly saw incoming calls drop by around 2,000 a week. Some of the affected employees had been with the bank for more than 30 years.

However, some of the staff at the bank have said that this was not the case. The workers stated that call volumes at the bank had not reduced after the AI launch, as was claimed, but had instead increased around the time the redundancies were announced. The union says management had even been asking other employees to assist with calls, including moving bank managers to contact centers and providing overtime to existing call center staff.

The union filed a case with a fair work tribunal over the decision to dismiss employees, saying that CBA had failed to properly explain its rationale. It also accused the bank of moving some of the work offshore, alluding to the fact that some of the 45 positions that were axed in Australia were being filled in India. It cast a shadow over CBA’s AI announcement by suggesting the move was just a cover for outsourcing.

CBA appeared to admit its case was wrong during the tribunal. Bank representatives accepted that they had not considered ongoing higher call volumes when they made the redundancy decision. In its submission to the tribunal, CBA stated: “This error meant the roles were not redundant.”

The bank has since backtracked on the redundancies and written to those affected, offering them the choice of returning to their previous role, finding a new one internally, or taking redundancy. CBA confirmed the change of heart to Bloomberg, saying: “We have apologized to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required.”

The FSU said in a statement that the “news is a massive win for the members affected” but noted that many of the employees had suffered during weeks of uncertainty over their futures. CBA workers have begun voicing concerns that some members of staff could not afford to pay their rent, with others worried that they would be evicted from their homes.

The bank’s recent developments in AI technology continue apace. Last week it was reported that CBA had entered into a new partnership with OpenAI, under which the two companies will work to build next-generation generative AI tools to be used in fraud prevention, scam detection, and customer service personalization. CBA has insisted that it’s an investment in its employees, but some of the workforce are likely to take a skeptical view after what they see as a botched exercise in AI.

For banks globally, the development of artificial intelligence tools is a huge part of their long-term planning. The use of AIs, many of which are designed to imitate human behavior, will lead to a huge shake-up for job roles across finance in the next few years. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, as many as 200,000 jobs across banking could be lost in the next three to five years, with back office, middle office, and operations positions all at risk from automation.

The trend toward automation and job losses will be swift, which can be a problem for employees used to a steady level of security. As demonstrated by this case, workers being told their roles are no longer needed while managers attempt to backfill positions with AIs can be distressing and lead to permanent reputational damage for banks. As noted by FSU, the case is a warning shot for banks and other employers to take a slower approach to automation and AI.

The union has made a statement to this effect, suggesting the damage that has already been done to bank workers will have long-term repercussions. “The damage has already been done, and it’s not as simple as just bringing them back; our members will still have lost trust in management,” the FSU said in a statement. “This shows no matter how senior you are, you are not immune to job loss under automation.” The union has also confirmed that it is currently engaged with the Fair Work Commission in another case over the bank’s wider use of AI and its consultation requirements.