ANZ slashes 230 staff in three states

The ANZ Bank (ASX: ANZ) has cut 230 workers from its wealth management divisions in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

The job cuts were blamed on changing customer preferences for investment products and new cost pressures, according to the Australian Financial Review.

“This includes changed customer preferences for wealth products following the GFC and increasing competition which is placing pressure on margins and costs,” an ANZ spokesman said.

“We believe these changes put us in a stronger position to invest in new products and services for our customers and to take advantage of new opportunities for growth.”

ANZ said it would help people find new roles and offer money to retrain people facing hardship.

But Finance Sector Union national secretary Leon Carter said the consultation period ANZ had set aside to help affected staff was “pretend consultation”.

“The banks make enough money to ride out these difficult times, without sacrificing staff while they are continuing to make very large profits,” Carter told AFR.

ANZ’s wealth management division suffered a 16% fall in net profit last year. ANZ CEO Mike Smith wants it to play a larger role in Asia.

“We haven’t looked at it as a global business and that’s where we’ve lost the opportunity to differentiate ourselves,” Smith told the AFR in February.