Australian lender Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) is set to cut approximately 300 jobs in its consumer and business banking divisions, the news agency Reuters reported.
According to the report, the Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) cited an internal memo from Westpac as the source of the information. These potential job losses, which represent 0.8 per cent of Westpac’s workforce, come at a time of robust profit growth for the bank amidst increasing interest rates and soaring inflation.
Julia Angrisano, the National Secretary of the FSU, expressed disapproval of the layoffs, highlighting that Westpac employees are already grappling with excessive workloads. She stated that these cuts will place a greater burden on those who remain, as they will be required to accomplish more with fewer resources.
In May, Westpac, along with other major lenders such as ANZ Group (ANZ.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), and Singapore’s DBS Group (DBSM.SI), warned about the potential impact of nearing peak interest rate cycles on the bank’s net interest margins.
