Media releases

The union says Westpac’s decision to cut 200 jobs over the next 12 months will devastate staff and strip away essential face-to-face banking and put profit before people.

 We’ve already heard of 1,500 job cuts leaked earlier this year – these cuts show Westpac is disguising a jobs cull as a digital transformation and the FSU says this is Westpac’s opportunity to show workers that isn’t the case.

 The bank has announced a $5 million ‘development fund’ to support existing staff in upskilling for the future and the FSU is calling for this to apply to those impacted by job cuts.

 The FSU is also awaiting further detail and engaging with Westpac on what this looks like for staff. 

 While Westpac claims it is cutting teller jobs to expand in areas such as small business and lending, the union insists redeloyment is possible and must be the minimum standard.

Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano:

“Westpac is asking loyal tellers to migrate customers to digital services that ultimately eliminate their own jobs. It’s callous and short-sighted.

“Communities still rely on face-to-face banking and workers should not be sacrificed for cost-cutting dressed up as innovation.

“Our expectation is clear: no worker should lose their job. We will hold Westpac to account every step of the way.

“We still don’t know how this ‘development fund’ will work, or whether it will genuinely protect jobs. 

“Westpac must show leadership by redeploying every affected worker into new roles – not using digital change as an excuse to shed staff.

“This is a test case for what employers should be doing. When roles are cut, workers must be reskilled and redeployed – not discarded. That’s the standard we expect, and we will fight for it.”

Media contact: Kate Shuttleworth 0447418726, [email protected]