Australian lender Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) AX) will cut about 300 jobs in its consumer and business banking division during a period of strong profit growth amid rising interest rates and rising inflation, a local trade association said.
Australia’s Finance Sector Union (FSU) said on Friday that the country’s third-largest bank would cut headcounts from its consumer and business banking divisions, citing a Westpac internal memo seen by the union.
Potential layoffs represent 0.8% of Westpac’s total workforce of 37,476 full-time equivalents, as of September 2022.
Reuters could not independently obtain internal memos.
FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano condemned the cuts and said, “Westpac workers are already struggling with overworked claims, and these cuts mean those left behind will have to do more with less.”
