In a callous and shocking move, Westpac has axed hundreds upon hundreds of jobs in just a few short weeks, with many more job cuts to come.
This devastating announcement was made smack bang in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis where workers are already struggling to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, Westpac’s profits continue to skyrocket with the bank having recently announced a half-yearly 22% jump on profits to a massive $4 billion.
They’ve claimed they need to cut costs during difficult economic times, yet have thrown out close to $25 million on NRL sponsorship and their executives keep getting huge pay rises.
This clearly demonstrates Westpac is making a choice to prioritise profits over people.
Westpac is a very profitable bank built off the backs of hardworking staff who go above and beyond every day. These cuts are a slap in the face to those who have worked so hard to get the bank to where it is today and shows a blatant disregard for its staff, customers and communities.
These job cuts also mean tens of thousands of work hours are now lost to the business. And it will be left to those who remain to pick up the pieces and cover this workload at a time when we know many are already overworked and close to burnout.
Westpac has an obligation to make sure our workplace is safe, and this includes ensuring our workloads are safe and manageable. So please tell us if you feel your workloads are unsafe or if you are concerned about the additional workload from these job cuts.
The FSU and Westpac staff will be fighting back against these short-sighted job cuts.
There are some actions you can take below to show your support and stand up against Westpac.
So far Westpac has gone about these job cuts in a completely disrespectful and harmful fashion. Staff have experienced shockingly poor communication, been pre-selected for the cuts before they were even announced, are training overseas staff to replace themselves and will even have their work outsourced to agencies. It shows a complete disrespect and disregard for the work we do.
With more job cuts to come, we need your help to take back control over the decision-making around these abhorrent cuts. Sign our petition demanding Westpac consult with us early and thoroughly so we are genuinely heard.
If you are a Westpac staff member who has been impacted by these cuts, complete our feedback form and tell us how these cuts have affected you.
The FSU has also written to the NSW, ACT, VIC and TAS Treasurers outlining the impact that these job cuts will have on service delivery across the public sector and beyond. You can read our letters below.
Here’s a list of all Westpac workplaces where we’ve been notified job cuts are taking place.
Date | Workplace/area | Number of jobs cut |
27/9/23 | Remediation Delivery & Optimisation | 39 |
27/9/23 | Tax & Accounting Services, Platforms Service & Operations, Technology | 43 |
21/9/23 | Business Lending | 29 |
18/9/23 | Group Regulatory Affairs, Risk | 6 |
7/9/23 | Group Property, Leasing and Workplace teams | 8 |
7/9/23 | Group Procurement | 5 |
7/9/23 | Consumer Finance | 8 |
7/9/23 | Consumer Bus Banking Technology | 18 |
7/9/23 | Consumer Bus Banking Digital | 16 |
7/9/23 | Consumer Business Banking Chief Transformation office | 57 |
1/9/23 | Branch closures | 23.47 |
31/8/23 | BCMR | 9 |
31/8/23 | WIB Technology | 8 |
17/8/23 | Cash Services – Customer Experience Transformation | 11.48 |
27/7/23 | Chief Transformation Office, Risk | 28 |
12/7/23 | Non-Financial Risk and Chief Compliance Office | 34.4 |
12/7/23 | CBB Risk Operational Risk & Compliance | 15 |
12/7/23 | Financial Crime | 4 |
12/7/23 | CBB Risk – Business Lending | 24 |
6/7/23 | Mortgage Operations Sales Support Unit | 13 |
5/7/23 | Banking as a Service business | 14 |
6/7/23 | Insights & Portfolio Team, Mortgage Operations | 6.8 |
29/6/23 | Consumer & Business Customer Engagement – Operations & Effectiveness | 27 |
21/6/23 | Business Services Operations Team, Mortgage Operations Origination | 6.8 |
21/6/23 | Corporate Services, Corporate Reporting & Analytics Business | 14 |
20/6/23 | Brand and Marketing | 46 |
15/6/23 | Group Operations – Mortgage Operations Capability Team | 10 |
15/6/23 | Group Operations Contact Centre – Mortgage Quality | 40 |
15/6/23 | Consumer & Business Customer Engagement – Home Lending Distribution | 8 |
15/6/23 | Consumer & Business Customer Engagement – Premier Change | 116 |
14/6/23 | Commercial Relationship Banking, Consumer & Business Banking | 22 |
8/6/23 | Chief Transformation Office | 7 |
8/6/23 | 5 Branch closures | 22 |
8/6/23 | Program Delivery Changes, Consumer & Business Banking | 301 |
8/6/23 | Disputes & ATMs and Merchant Fraud & Chargebacks Team Changes | 7 |
25/5/23 | Private Wealth, Consumer & Business Banking | 10 |
25/5/23 | Fin Markets - WIB | 17 |
24/5/23 | Service Operations/Digital Solutions Team (IT Help Desk) | 7 |
Jobs lost in 2023 | 1080.95 |