NAB workers latest to fall as automation transforms the economy

Six-thousand retrenched National Australia Bank (NAB) employees start leaving from this week, largely from the bank's Melbourne head office, as software takes over increasingly complex tasks. The cuts -- one in every five members of NAB's workforce -- were announced in November, the same day the bank revealed a $5.3 billion annual net profit. Dominic Barton works for the world's top CEOs, as global managing partner of consulting firm McKinsey and Company. "For 60 per cent of jobs, 30 per cent of the activities are automatable," he said. In his view, automation and software that analyses information and makes decisions will transform the business landscape -- doing jobs that, until recently, required well-paid "knowledge workers".