‘The business doesn’t care’: Union, staff rage at Westpac following major axing
Hundreds of Westpac employees have lost their jobs in the last seven weeks, despite the bank seeing a surge in profits.
An Australian union body has slammed a big four bank for being “callous” after it slashed 751 jobs in as little as seven weeks amid a cost of living crisis.
According to the Finance Sector Union (FSU), Westpac has axed hundreds of jobs across 21 areas since the end of May, with more anticipated cuts to come.
The string of job cuts commenced on May 24 – the union reports – just weeks after the bank recorded a 22 per cent surge in its six-month net profit to just over $4 billion.
According to Westpac’s 2023 half-yearly report released on May 8, chief executive officer Peter King said the bank was “well positioned for the future” after achieving a “good result”.
“Our first half result reflects the progress we’ve made in becoming a simpler, stronger bank,” he wrote.
“We’re now entering a new strategic phase, repositioning the Group’s priorities to focus on the future. This includes placing customer care at the heart, being easy to do business with, providing expert solutions and tools, and advocating for positive change.”
However, the “new strategic phase” seems to include the bank letting go a total of 751 staff with the most recent redundancies occurring on Wednesday, impacting about 77 people.
According to the union, the banking corporation dismissed these staff members as it needed to “cut costs during difficult economic times”.
The FSU claims Westpac is choosing to prioritise “profits over people”, particularly after “throwing out” $25 million on sponsoring the NRL and awarding its executives with “higher pay rises”.
“This clearly demonstrates Westpac is making a choice to prioritise profits over people,” the FSU said in a statement.
“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.”
751 jobs gone in seven weeks
In May, 34 workers lost their jobs across the IT, fin markets and private wealth, consumer and business banking departments in a span of two days.
A fortnight later in June, more job cuts took place with five branches closing leaving 22 staff out of jobs.
An additional 301 staff were cut from the program delivery changes, consumer and business banking department that same day as well as seven other employees from the Chief Transformation Office.
In the same month, another 290 people were let go across various banking, home loan, group operations, brand and marketing, corporate, business and consumer departments.
That brings us to July, where 97 people are understood to have lost their jobs at Westpac to date.
Last week, the bank announced it would cut 300 roles from its head office, customer service and contracting positions, with these sackings included in the union’s tally.
A Westpac spokesperson said the cuts were first flagged at the beginning of last year and added the impacted employees were being “supported”.
“In February 2022, we announced plans to simplify the bank, improve accountability and reduce costs. This ongoing reorganisation is part of our simplification and cost reset program,” they said.
“We’ll be supporting our employees as we make these changes.”
Employees shattered after cuts uprooted their lives
The cuts have devastated most employees regardless of whether they’ve lost their job, with those still working for the bank concerned about how the redundancies will impact their workload.
“I am part of a change team of 24 people, some who have been impacted. I am ‘safe’ but there is no understanding of what work is being left behind for us to pick up,” one employee told the union.
“Yet more cuts just mean poorer service to customers and makes my job yet harder. The business doesn’t care about staff and we are all stressed and wondering if we are next,” another added.
One staff member who is losing her job said she’s had to put her personal life on hold because of the job cuts, including plans to have a second child.
“We were planning to have another baby within the next year, which now (we) may have to put on hold because if I have to start a new role at another company, I won’t be eligible for parental leave,” she said.
“I’m already 35 and so delaying a year can make a big difference, on top of the fact that our finances are becoming tighter due to the cost of living and interest rate increases.”
Meanwhile a veteran staff member added: “After 21 years with the group and accepting a new role from them only 11 months ago, I have been made redundant.”
“They have also done this leading up to a time where I lost my bonus I have worked so hard for this year.”
Finally, another sacked employee claims they are using their last days at the company to hand over and train staff in India who will be taking over their jobs.
“To deliver these cuts in such a callous manner amid one of the worst cost-of-living crises we have ever experienced is a blow to staff and their families cannot afford,” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.
The union is fighting the cuts along with impacted staff by starting a petition “demanding Westpac consult with (them)” so their concerns are “genuinely heard”.
The FSU also wrote a letter to NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey outlining how the job cuts will impact service delivery across the public sector and beyond.
“This is a very profitable bank built off the backs of hardworking staff who go above and beyond every day,” Ms Angrisano said.
“No reason has been provided for these arbitrary job cuts and it’s just a slap in the face to those who have worked so hard to get the bank to where it is today. It shows a blatant disregard for its staff, customers and communities.”
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