Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) would cut 1000 permanent jobs in the next seven months to help cope with falling demand for financial services, the bank said yesterday.
ANZ informed its staff in Australia yesterday that 492 roles would be eliminated immediately, while the remainder would be cut by the end of its 30 September fiscal year, the bank said in a statement.
All 1000 job losses were in Australia, an ANZ spokesman said.
The reductions represent just over 4 per cent of the bank’s domestic workforce, which numbered 24,000. ANZ said it employed 49,000 people worldwide.
“The reductions announced today affect our retail, commercial, wealth and operations areas,” the spokesman said.
“However, there is no breakdown by area.”
The bank said the job losses were middle management, back-office and support roles. It said it would also freeze salaries for most senior excutives in fiscal 2012.
“In this environment, the right thing to do is to be upfront with our staff and with the community about the changes needed in banking and their implications,” chief executive Philip Chronican said.
ANZ said higher funding costs had put “intense pressure on margins”.
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said the announcement brought the total number of finance jobs slashed to 2000 since the beginning of the year across the nation’s banks and institutions.
“There is no justification for any Australian bank to slash jobs,” FSU secretary Leon Carter said in a statement.
The FSU said ANZ’s profit reached a record $5.36 billion last year and the four major banks’ profit totalled $24 billion.
However, volatile markets slashed the net profit after tax of ANZ’s wealth arm by 16 per cent over the year to 30 September 2011 to $345 million and by 15 per cent over the six months to 30 September. Funds under management slid 8 per cent.
