Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly has ordered job cuts across the bank's middle management despite a $1.55 billion profit for the third quarter.
Mrs Kelly told an analysts briefing in Sydney that the bank would step up its "productivity measures" to contain costs.
Job cuts, tipped to total more than 1000, are likely to come from middle management and IT.
Westpac cut 600 jobs, mostly in IT, in the half year to March. The latest round of job cuts are expected to centre primarily at the bank's head office in Sydney.
Finance Sector Union national secretary Leon Carter said the government should move to protect bank workers in light of the guarantee put in place during the global financial crisis.
"We aren't talking about a small business that has to lay off a few staff to survive," he said.
"The banks are expecting record profits and are among the largest in the world.
"The banks should have a moral and social oversight to maintain employment given that the federal government and the community stood behind them in the downturn.
"We believe there's a public policy response that the government should put in place that requires the banks not to get rid of a single job."
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