One of Australia’s largest banks has cut another 132 jobs, with some of these jobs sent overseas to companies in India and the Philippines.
The Financial Sector Union said on Thursday that Westpac is cutting 62 positions from its risk department as the country faces an “unprecedented level” of scams and cybersecurity threats.
This follows 20 redundancies in January at Westpac’s sales support unit in its mortgage servicing division, which were outsourced to Concentrix Corp, the FSU said.
Another 50 positions from the bank’s operations unit will be transferred to IT companies such as Genpact, TATA Consulting Services and Concentrix.
“From time to time we change the way we operate and this may impact some roles and responsibilities,” a Westpac spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
Westpac has cut a further 132 jobs across various sections. An archive image is shown of a woman who has just received bad news.
Some of the functions are being transferred to companies in India and the Philippines. Pictured is a “Welcome to India” sign at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
‘When this happens, we work closely with employees to provide them with personalized support and assistance with their career transition.
“We are trying to keep as many employees as we can within the Westpac Group, through retraining and redeployment.”
The spokesperson did not clarify the number of jobs affected, but stated that “these changes occur in headquarters and operational functions, and represent less than half a percent of our workforce.”
Westpac employs around 30,000 people across Australia.
FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano said ‘Westpac’s strategy of continually outsourcing jobs to external service providers does nothing to improve staff morale and sends the message that staff must toe the line or Their jobs could be offshored.
“Rather than running an integrated banking operation, Westpac now looks more like a patchwork of third-party providers.”
A survey released last August revealed that Australian businesses struggling to find staff would send jobs overseas to avoid paying higher wages locally.
“From time to time we change the way we operate and this may impact some roles and responsibilities,” a Westpac spokesperson said. The photo shows a man walking past a Westpac sign.
Financial Services Union national secretary Julia Angrisano (pictured) said: “Rather than running an integrated banking operation, Westpac now looks more like a patchwork of third-party providers.”
A Money Transfer Compare survey of business leaders found that more than two-thirds, or 68 per cent, of small and medium-sized businesses would employ staff based abroad.
The survey of 200 business directors found the tight labor market was the biggest obstacle: 21 per cent said it was too difficult to find staff in Australia, with wages growing at the fastest pace in more than a decade.
Companies suggested they were more likely to look overseas for technical staff with specialist IT skills, with 21 per cent nominating this area as a potential area of offshore outsourcing.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Westpac for further comment.