Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. affirmed its commitment to staying in China despite plans to shift jobs offshore and let go 850 staff over the next 18 months, The Sydney Morning Herald reported March 10, citing an email from the bank to its staff.

All employees earmarked for redundancy are from the bank's service center in Chengdu, China, where more than 1,000 people are employed for ANZ's digital growth strategy. They are employed in technology and backend operations roles, according to the publication.

Steve Harris, ANZ regional head, told employees through the email that work provided by the Chengdu team will be gradually transferred to staff in Bengaluru in India, Manila or in Melbourne. Across China, the bank intends to retain 100 operations staff and 700 bankers who will work with institutional and corporate clients.

One banking source told the paper that ANZ had been "very nervous" about retaining its Chinese operations amid trade tensions between China and Australia. However, Harris rebuffed the claim and said the decision to let go of Chinese staff is purely a business decision and had nothing to do with trade relations.

The source added that shifting the roles to India is also part of a cost-cutting strategy, with similar moves planned from higher cost locations in Australia and across Asia before the end of March.