September 12, 2025

 

(AI AND THE REVOLUTION IN THE WORKPLACE)

 

September 12, 2025

 

Hello everyone

 

Banks are doing this.

Tech firms are doing this.

Retail is doing this.

What am I talking about?

I’m talking about redundancies.

Thousands of jobs in Australia, in America and no doubt across the globe, are being slashed.

Australia’s big four banks have wiped out thousands of jobs this week.  Experts are warning that everyday Australian customers will pay the price.

These job cuts are a bid to boost earnings, combat operating costs, manage workplace changes and embrace the revolutionary changes of digitisation.

 

 

Bank of Queensland (BOQ) axed 400 roles late last year, then announced plans to shut 14 branches across Australia less than six months later.

Westpac has reportedly cut around 1000 jobs already and is considering axing more than 1500 more positions.

July saw Bendigo Bank announce 10 branch closures across three states and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) cut 45 call centre jobs after rolling out an AI chatbot to deal with customer inquiries.

ANZ has now announced it is cutting 3500 full-time roles and 1000 contractor jobs, while NAB shed 410 jobs and moved 127 more overseas.

I believe good customer service will become a thing of the past.  It seems that soon we will have to make do with an AI chatbot – particularly if banks keep culling workers.

I am imagining a day will soon arrive when we will be greeted by a humanoid robot should we choose to physically enter our bank branch. 

 

 

The Stock Market Rally

It’s the rally that hardly anyone expected, and most people hate.

It keeps going partly because most investors are so sceptical about the strength of this trend.

After all the drama and big media headlines about inflation data this week – well, they do need to get people to tune into the financial media screens and tap into financial news headlines to make the cut – it’s all about those clicks – the CPI inflation report was largely in line; the market applauded.  However, jobless claims spiked.  All this data reinforced expectations for a quarter-point rate cut at next week’s Fed meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped 1.4% in Thursday’s stock market trading.  The S&P 500 index gained 0.85%.  The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.7%.  The small cap Russell 2000 leapt 1.8% to a nine-month high.

Tesla stock jumped 6% to $368.81, breaking out past a $367.71 buy point from a consolidation going back late May, according to Market-Surge.  Investors are betting on self-driving and Optimus robots, with the core business struggling amid Tesla brand woes and aging EV models.

The stock market rally appears to be starting a new leg higher after several weeks of sideways action.  AI is leading but market breadth appears to be strong, especially on Thursday. 

According to Deutsche Bank, the S&P500 will finish the year at around 7,000. The bank cited strong second-quarter earnings, showing that the tariff hit, thus far, has been modest. Though Deutsche Bank analysts do expect tariffs to bite deeper, they expect the landscape to remain manageable.  They note that price increases are not expected to be out of the ordinary as companies deploy a variety of mitigation levers first.

Strategists added that half the estimated direct hit on inflation from tariffs this year has already been seen in core goods prices.  Furthermore, while they acknowledged that inflation might pick up, the magnitude should be modest versus 2021-2022 and temporary.

Deutsche Bank also lifted its S&P500 earnings estimate for 2025 to $267 to $277 and said 2026 is likely to reach $315.

The bank is overweight on financials and consumer cyclicals where spending remains “robust.”

 

Cheers

Jacquie