FSU commences dispute with Acenda over job cuts

Binaya Dahal

Journalist

17 March 2026

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has initiated a formal dispute with life insurer Acenda, accusing the company of failing to properly consult workers over sweeping workplace changes.

The union said the insurer, formed in late 2025 when Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance Company combined MLC Life and Resolution Life Australasia under a single brand, has rolled out rounds of job cuts without adequate communication.

The union has claimed the restructuring resulted in approximately 85 upper middle management positions being eliminated in the first round, followed by around 150 lower middle management roles. A third round saw more than 50 additional redundancies.

FSU national president, Wendy Streets, said workers were facing round after round of job cuts at Acenda with very little information about what was happening next.

“Workers deserve transparency and genuine consultation when major changes are happening to their jobs and their livelihoods,” Streets said.

“Enterprise agreements require employers to genuinely consult with workers when significant changes are proposed.

“The way these job cuts have been handled raises serious questions about whether Acenda is meeting those obligations.”

The union said the majority of layoffs appear to have affected workers from the MLC Life side of the merged business, raising concerns among staff about how the integration is being managed.

The FSU has called on Acenda to be transparent about the scale of the job cuts and to commit to proper consultation with workers before any further restructuring takes place.

“Workers deserve honesty about what the future of the business looks like and a seat at the table when decisions are being made about their jobs,” Streets said.

The union said the job losses had occurred across almost every department within the company.