Every workplace wants to be more efficient. But how much can productivity be pushed before it comes at the expense of people? Two stories that played out in Australia between August and September 2025 bring this question into focus. Both show how attempts to boost output can create new challenges when people are left out of the equation.
When Automation Goes Wrong
In August, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) trialled an artificial intelligence voicebot to replace some call centre roles. About 45 staff were told their jobs would be redundant. The plan quickly failed. Customer calls increased, and pressure rose. Team leaders had to be pulled back onto the phones to deal with demand. Within weeks, CBA reversed its decision and offered affected workers a chance to stay.
The case shows a key lesson: efficiency tools like automation cannot replace the empathy and judgment of human workers. Without people, service quality suffers.
Supermarkets Struggle to Find Staff
At the same time, Drakes Supermarkets faced a different workforce issue. Chief Executive JP Drake admitted that despite offering free meals and gym access, the company could not fill local jobs. With applications from Australians falling short, Drakes turned to overseas workers, including staff from Vanuatu. Drake argued that welfare support discouraged some Australians from applying. His comments were controversial, but they reflected a larger concern: how to secure reliable labour in a tight market.
This example highlights the difficulty of relying on incentives alone. Even well-intentioned strategies can fail if local participation remains low.
The Role of Migration and Policy
Broader workforce trends add more complexity. Net overseas migration is expected to add more than 279,000 people in 2025. At the same time, unions have raised alarms about jobs being moved offshore. The Finance Sector Union has accused companies of cutting local positions while recruiting overseas for similar work.
This creates a tension between business needs and public expectations. Employers must weigh the short-term benefits of cheaper or faster options against the long-term trust of their workforce and customers.
Why People Still Matter Most
Both stories lead to the same conclusion. Productivity measures that ignore the human element create more problems than they solve. AI tools can fail without human oversight. Incentives can fall flat if jobseekers are disengaged. And migration, while helpful, can trigger social and political pushback if mismanaged.
People remain the constant. They are the drivers of sustainable productivity, and the organisations that thrive will be those that build systems around human strengths, not as a replacement for them.
So, is productivity worth more than people? The evidence suggests not. The strongest businesses of the future will be those that balance efficiency with empathy. People may cost more in the short term, but in the long run they are the only resource that ensures both resilience and growth.