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This comes in a wave of job cuts in Australia’s financial sector. 2000 jobs have already been lost this year, between 1000 at ANZ, 136 at NAB, 300 at Suncorp, and 560 at WBC. 130 were earlier announced at ANZ.



The FSU estimates that of the job cuts, 600 are going to be outsourced to India or the Philippines. Many are expected to be back-office, middle-management and processing workers.



These cuts come as “cost-cutting measures,” attributed to the financial crisis, but the largest 4 banks in Australia made a record $25 billion profit last year. FSU national secretary Leon Carter pointed out in a Business Times article that “This is an incredibly profitable, iconic Australian employer that can afford to keep every one of these workers in place and continue to make multi-billion dollar profits,” adding “This is about greed at the expense of workers.”



The FSU is attempting to engage with the government to try and protect jobs. They have gotten supportive government responses, but it is difficult. They have secured a meeting with the Prime Minister, who has expressed her sympathies, to try and get an industry plan designed to protect jobs. While a strike has been mentioned as a possibility, it is unlikely.