Westpac has announced it will cut 560 positions in response to current weak demand for loans and as part of a campaign to improve productivity and cut duplication.

 

Peter Hanlon, Chief Executive, Australian Financial Services, said there would be between 300 and 400 retrenchments, with the remainder redeployed. 

 

The Financial Sector Union (FSU) has attacked the decision, claiming it is part of the bank's program to offshore positions.  It has called on state and Federal politicians to intervene and demand that Westpac abandon its plans.

 

The FSU claims that of the 560 positions, 180 are to be offshored, and these are in addition to the 188 IT jobs that Westpac announced last November were to be taken offshor.

 

"The Westpac Enterprise Agreement 2010 provides an obligation for the bank to consult, and protections around redundancy, redeployment and staffing levels," the FSU said.


 The FSU said no Westpac employee should be forced to be redundant, and jobs should not be offshored when the skills and the employees are already here doing the work well.