Westpac boss Anthony Miller has embarked on a massive restructuring plan at the bank, with hundreds of people set to lose their jobs. (Source: Getty\/Westpac) <\/p>\n
Stepping into a Westpac<\/a> branch might look a bit different in the future, as the Big Four bank announces plans to axe 200 bank teller jobs<\/a>. The bank is already embarking on a restructuring scheme that’s set to cut at least 1,500 roles<\/a> in the coming months, and these teller jobs will go on top of that.<\/p>\n However, the tellers are set to be redeployed to Westpac’s home and business lending wing<\/a>, allowing the bank to continue upholding its position as the country’s second-largest lender<\/a>. But the Finance Sector Union (FSU) has called the move “callous and short-sighted”, arguing everyday branch customers will suffer.<\/p>\n \u201cCommunities still rely on face-to-face banking and workers should not be sacrificed for cost-cutting dressed up as innovation,” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.<\/p>\n Instead of dedicated bank tellers who help with cash withdrawal and deposit requests, balance inquiries, currency exchanges, and other matters, branches will have concierge staff.<\/p>\n These workers will be able to help customers who come through the doors use the ATMs on-site or use the bank’s website and app.<\/p>\n Thirty-three teller staff have already shifted from branches to the home finance team earlier this year.<\/p>\n Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n A $5 million development fund has been set up by Westpac to help the staff who take a redundancy and leave the bank.<\/p>\n The FSU said this fund was created after applying significant pressure on the bank to support its staff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still don\u2019t know how this \u2018development fund\u2019 will work, or whether it will genuinely protect jobs,\u201d Angrisano said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a test case for what employers should be doing. When roles are cut, workers must be re-skilled and redeployed \u2014 not discarded. That\u2019s the standard we expect, and we will fight for it.\u201d<\/p>\n In May, Westpac revealed it would be simplifying operations across the bank in a major cost-cutting exercise.<\/p>\n More than 1,500 roles are set to be on the chopping block, which is the biggest redundancy round in a decade.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we continue to invest in extra bankers and customer-facing roles, other programs and initiatives may need fewer resources,” a spokesperson said at the time.<\/p>\n ANZ also recently revealed a similar restructuring plan<\/a> that will axe 3,500 jobs and 1,000 contractor roles.<\/p>\n NAB announced its restructure plan<\/a> a day after ANZ’s, which would impact 728 workers, and see 410 jobs cut.<\/p>\n Commonwealth Bank told 45 staff they would be made redundant to make way for a new AI chatbot<\/a>, but the bank then spectacularly backflipped on that decision and offered them their jobs back.<\/p>\n The FSU estimated that the Big Four Banks, NAB<\/a>, ANZ<\/a>, Westpac, and Commonwealth Bank (CBA)<\/a>, have cut 7,885 jobs this year alone.<\/p>\n That’s nearly double the 4,665 who lost their jobs last year.<\/p>\n Reducing bank teller roles is part of a much broader banking trend<\/a>, seeing dozens of branches close across the country.<\/p>\n While Westpac, along with NAB, ANZ, and Commonwealth Bank, have all committed to not closing any more regional branches until 2027, concerns are rising about what will happen after that date.<\/p>\n Westpac CEO Anthony Miller admitted in August<\/a> that some regional branch closures were a mistake and said branch banking \u201cabsolutely\u201d had a future.<\/p>\n He explained that the bank had to \u201cfind that balance\u201d between giving people branch access<\/a> but also giving them the opportunity to do things online, including more mundane tasks, at the time of their choosing.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the challenges for us is that 96 per cent of what people want to do with a bank nowadays is done online digitally<\/a>, but there is still a role for that physical, human-to-human connection that branches provide,\u201d Miller told 3AW<\/a>.<\/p>\n The CEO added that Westpac was currently \u201cworking on adding more branches in regional Australia\u201d and was focused on \u201cgetting the offering right” in regional Australia.<\/p>\n According to APRA data, Australia lost 230 bank branches in the 2024 financial year, with the Big Four closing 190 of them.<\/p>\n ANZ<\/a>, NAB<\/a> and Westpac<\/a> branch numbers dropped 11 per cent, while Commonwealth Bank<\/a> branches fell by a smaller 4 per cent.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n CBA, ANZ, NAB and Westpac have all been cutting jobs this year. (Source: AAP) \u00b7 AAPIMAGE <\/p>\n