Business Search for: News News ANZ to sack 500 workers, send jobs to overseas to centre in Bangalore

ANZ will sack 500 back-office workers and shift the jobs to India.

The move comes as finance workers demand the Federal Government guarantee only the deposit accounts of banks that keep employment in Australia.

A spokesman for ANZ said 500 back-office jobs would be shed by the end of this year.

"In 2008, the size of the operation in Bangalore grew by around 500 people and it is reasonable to expect there will be some further growth in 2009," he said.

Most of the losses will be in technology and back office operations roles.

ANZ said its Australian and New Zealand call centres would stay in operation.

It's another blow to workers after it was revealed today that the New South Wales Government is creating thousands of jobs in China at the expense of Sydney workers.
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In the past year government contracts for making police uniforms have gone to China, while ambulance uniforms have been made there since late 2007.

The uniforms join a growing list, including 626 train carriages, up to eight million hospital bed sheets and nurses' outfits, which are being made in China.

The ANZ announcement was made as the Finance Sector Union told a Senate inquiry hearing today government assistance to banks should be conditional on jobs staying in Australia.

"If the Australian taxpayer is going to help Australian banks, one condition should be the immediate cessation of offshoring," the union's national secretary Leon Carter said.

The union's director of policy Rod Masson said bank staff were being directed not to tell consumers work was being done offshore.

Consumers were being let down as call centre staff were being moved abroad.

"The banks in this country spend an inordinate amount of time hiding who you are speaking to," he said.

"It's not being honest with consumers."

Labour force data released yesterday showed the jobless rate in February soared to 5.2 per cent, the highest in four years.

The finance union says Australian banks has slashed thousands of jobs in the past year, and sent more than 800 jobs offshore since October, despite their multi-million dollar profits.

In October, the Federal Government unveiled a guarantee program for deposits in Australian-owned banks, building societies and credit unions for the next three years.

The deposits scheme is worth up to $700 billion.