Westpac set to slash 1,500 jobs: Union calls for the move to be ‘immediately shelved’

Major bank Westpac is set to cut more than 1,500 employees in an attempt to hit lofty cost-reduction targets, spurring outrage from the finance union.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has called on Westpac to “immediately shelve” its move to reduce staff across its workforce. As reported by The Australian Financial Review (AFR), Westpac is set to axe more than 1,500 jobs as its chief executive, Anthony Miller, hopes it meets his lofty cost-reduction targets.

According to the AFR, Miller has asked his managers to reduce the number of employees under their direction by 5 per cent across most teams, which is set to take place over the next few months under a business strategy referred to as “Unite”.

A Westpac spokesperson could not confirm the number of staff who would face these cuts; however, they confirmed that redundancies were in fact being considered, as certain initiatives “may need fewer resources”.

“We adjust the composition of our workforce according to our investment priorities. While we continue to invest in extra bankers and customer-facing roles, other programs and initiatives may need fewer resources,” said the spokesperson.

“This means, from time to time, we make changes that may impact some roles and responsibilities as we actively manage costs and investment. As the skills and capabilities required in banking continue to evolve, so will our workforce.”

“We try to keep as many employees as we can, through retraining and redeployment. For those who leave, we help them with tailored support and assistance with career transition.”

The spokesperson reiterated that Westpac remains a major Australian employer, having “hired almost 5,000 people” over the past year.

Despite this, however, the FSU claimed that over the past year, Westpac has “unleashed almost 1,000 job cuts”, with the most recent being 160 roles in the tech and business wealth division and a further 190 in its mortgage operations and customer solutions.

“FSU members and Westpac employees have faced ongoing uncertainty and significant job losses over the past few years, with more job cuts now under a new ‘business-led simplification program’ – Unite,” said FSU national president Wendy Streets.

“As the new CEO, Anthony Miller had an opportunity to invest in his existing, dedicated workforce. He appears to be choosing not to do so.”

“This is deeply disappointing, particularly as Westpac posted a net profit of $7 billion just last year.”

The FSU reached out to Westpac yesterday (21 May) seeking an “urgent explanation” and “confirmation” on what the next steps look like.

CommBank has recently undertaken similar workforce reduction measures, axing 163 customer service jobs briefly after cutting 164 roles from its technology division – despite posting a $2.6 billion profit in the March quarter.

This brings CommBank’s total workforce reductions to nearly 800 workers over the past 12 months, despite their “swollen” profits.

“While CBA’s profits have swollen in the past year, they have sacked almost 800 workers in piecemeal announcements, no doubt in the hopes that these smaller job numbers wouldn’t be widely noticed,” said FSU national assistant secretary Jason Hall.

CommBank’s redundancies, however, pale in comparison to Westpac’s, which is set to carry out its largest jobs slash in a decade.