SYDNEY, Australia(BN24) — A long-serving Commonwealth Bank employee says she was dismissed after 25 years on the job, only months after unknowingly helping to train the artificial intelligence system that would ultimately replace her.
Kathryn Sullivan, 63, worked as a bank teller at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), where her final tasks involved scripting and testing chatbot responses for the bank’s AI-powered assistant, Bumblebee. What she didn’t know at the time was that her contributions would lead to the elimination of her own role.
“I was completely shell-shocked,” Sullivan said. “We just feel like we were nothing—we were a number.”
Sullivan, who supported the integration of new technology to enhance customer service, said she believed in the responsible use of AI in the workplace. However, she expressed concern over the lack of regulation and oversight when AI is used to replace human workers.
“Inadvertently, I was training a chatbot that took my job,” she said. “While I embrace the use of AI, there needs to be regulation—especially to protect jobs and intellectual property.”
Sullivan was made redundant in July, alongside at least one colleague, after participating in AI trials where she assisted the chatbot when it failed to answer real customer inquiries. Although she was aware that some digital messaging operations might be outsourced in the future, she said she never imagined her role would be eliminated altogether.
Following the layoffs, Commonwealth Bank faced a surge in customer service issues, with increased call volumes indicating the AI system could not fully manage customer needs without human oversight. The bank eventually reversed its decision, acknowledging it had mishandled the process and offered reinstatement to affected employees.
Sullivan declined the offer, citing a lack of job security and the significant difference between the new position and her previous role.
“They ghosted me for eight business days after I was let go,” she added. “There was no communication, no answers.”
In a statement, a Commonwealth Bank spokesperson admitted the bank’s initial assessment was flawed.
“We acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required,” the spokesman said. “Our conclusion that 45 roles were not needed did not adequately consider all relevant business factors. These roles were not, in fact, redundant.”
The bank issued an apology and said it is now supporting impacted employees with options to return, pursue other roles within the company, or proceed with redundancy. It also confirmed an internal review is underway to improve how such decisions are handled in the future.
The incident has reignited concerns around the use of AI in banking and the speed at which traditional roles are being phased out—sometimes by the very employees helping to build the future systems.
