State of AI Redundancy in Australia: 2026-Q3.
30 roles were cut in named Australian redundancy rounds where the employer or a union directly cited AI between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026, across 1 round.
Published 10 October 2026. Rounds recorded to 4 November 2026.
The quarter in four numbers
- roles across 1 round that directly cited AI
- 30
- roles across 2 rounds where automation was named as one factor
- 413
- rounds that cited AI, including rounds with no confirmed figure
- 5
- context rounds of 30 or more roles where AI was not cited
- 2
Quarter by quarter since 2025
| Quarter | Directly cited AI | Automation one factor |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 Q2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 Q3 | 45 | 320 |
| 2025 Q4 | 0 | 2,613 |
| 2026 Q1 | 2,534 | 0 |
| 2026 Q2 | 120 | 0 |
| 2026 Q3 | 30 | 413 |
The rounds that cited AI this quarter
| Employer | Month | Roles | AI attribution | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBA | Jul 2026 | 276 (176 technology and engineering) | Automation named as one factor | itnews.com.au |
| Microsoft Australia | Jul 2026 | 4,800 globally, AU share not disclosed | Automation named as one factor | ia.acs.org.au |
| Nine Entertainment | Jul 2026 | up to 30 | AI directly cited | theguardian.com |
| Coles | Aug 2026 | several hundred, figure not confirmed | Automation named as one factor | retail-insight-network.com |
| Bendigo and Adelaide Bank | Sep 2026 | 137 redundancies among 299 roles changing | Automation named as one factor | abc.net.au |
What the numbers show
- One named round directly cited AI between 1 July and 30 September 2026: 30 roles at Nine Entertainment in July. That is the lowest directly cited total of the three quarters of 2026 so far, after 2,534 roles in the first quarter and 120 in the second.
- Two rounds where automation was named as one factor carried a confirmed figure, both in banking: 276 roles at CBA in July and 137 at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in September, 413 roles in all. Two more such rounds, at Microsoft Australia and Coles, published no confirmed figure and are not counted.
- Of the seven rounds of 30 or more roles logged this quarter outside the Other lane, five named AI or automation as the cause or as one factor, and two did not.
Methodology
What gets in. A round is logged when a named Australian employer announces redundancies affecting 30 or more roles, and at least one published source with a working link reports it. Each round links to that source.
What “AI cited” means. A round is marked as AI directly cited when the employer, a union for the affected workers, or the published source puts the job losses down to artificial intelligence or automation. Where automation was named as one factor among others, the round is marked separately as partly attributed. Rounds where AI is not mentioned are logged for context and never counted.
How the two totals are counted.
- Directly cited: the sum of roles in rounds where AI was directly cited, leaving out rounds that were reversed, voluntary pools such as the federal APS programme, and rounds with no confirmed figure.
- Partly attributed: the sum of roles in rounds where automation was named as one factor, with the same exclusions.
- Context rounds, where AI was not cited, are never counted. Neither is anything in the Other lane.
Where automation was named as one factor, the count includes the full announced headcount, because employers do not say how many roles automation accounts for. A round is counted once, in the month it was announced, so a round spanning two quarters sits in the quarter of that month.
Sector lanes.
- Banking and insurance
- Banks, insurers, super, wealth, fund administration.
- Telco
- Telcos and network operators.
- Tech
- Software and platform businesses.
- Outsourced services
- Rounds where the work moved to an offshore provider or shared service centre.
- Retail
- Retailers, support offices and store networks.
- Public sector
- Federal and state agencies, universities, public broadcasters.
- Media
- Publishers, broadcasters and production.
- Other
- Mining, energy, manufacturing and logistics. Logged for scale, outside the role groups this tracker follows. Never counted.
How often it changes. Rounds are added at least once a quarter, before each quarterly report. The report is published within three weeks of the quarter's end.
Licence. The tracker data, its CSV downloads and the quarterly report are free to share and adapt under CC BY 4.0. Credit Changing Careers and link to the page you used.
Corrections. If a figure, a date or an attribution is wrong, or a round with a published source is missing, tell us what to correct or email hello@changingcareers.com.au. Accepted corrections appear on the tracker page and in the CSV.
This is data journalism, not advice. The tracker records announced redundancy rounds from published sources. It does not predict who will lose a job, and it is not career, financial or legal advice.
Cite or download this report
Changing Careers, State of AI Redundancy in Australia: 2026-Q3, published 10 October 2026, https://changingcareers.com.au/state-of-ai-redundancy-australia/2026-q3. CC BY 4.0.
This report counts announced redundancy rounds from published sources. It uses no assessment or member data.
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