Fewer tellers, longer waits? Westpac’s quiet changes could soon hit customers

The hum of Christmas shopping fills the air, but not everyone is feeling festive. For more than a hundred Westpac tellers, this season has brought anxiety instead of cheer. Across the country, staff are being told their jobs will vanish as the bank accelerates its digital-first strategy.

It’s a change that’s left many Australians—especially those who rely on friendly, in-person service—wondering what the future of banking will look like.

A digital shift—but at what cost?

Westpac has confirmed it will cut 134 teller roles across 99 branches, prompting the Finance Sector Union (FSU) to brand the move ‘heartless and disrespectful to frontline workers’ just weeks before Christmas.

The decision forms part of the bank’s push toward online banking, which it says reflects how customer behaviour is changing.

These losses follow a broader plan announced in September to phase out around 200 teller and personal banker positions over the next year, as more retail services shift online.

A Westpac spokesperson told Yahoo Finance the bank was adjusting the ‘composition’ of its workforce to align with new investment priorities.

The bank will reportedly replace many teller roles with new ‘branch concierge’ positions, designed to help customers navigate its digital tools for things like deposits, bill payments and online transfers.

At the same time, Westpac says it will add roughly 200 new jobs in home and business lending to strengthen its loan portfolio.

Promises of retraining—but are they enough?

Westpac insists that supporting affected staff remains a priority. The bank says it aims to keep employees within the group wherever possible by retraining them for other roles.

‘We try to keep as many employees in the Westpac Group as we can, through retraining and redeployment,’ the spokesperson said. ‘For those who leave, we help them with tailored support and assistance with career transition.’

General manager of retail banking Damien MacRae recently told staff that 33 employees had already been redeployed as home finance managers, and the trend is expected to continue.

Even so, the FSU says the bank has acted too quickly—cutting jobs before staff have been given a fair opportunity to benefit from retraining programs or the $5 million upskilling fund promised earlier this year.

Streets added, ‘Westpac could pause these cuts, treat its people with fairness and decency, and work with us to find solutions—or it can keep choosing profits over people. The bank made a big show of promising to invest in its people through this fund, yet it’s cutting the very workers the fund was meant to support.’

A pattern of cuts across the banking sector

This isn’t the first sign of a shake-up within Westpac. Earlier this year, reports revealed the bank was preparing to slash more than 1,500 roles as part of a major cost-cutting and technology overhaul.

The latest job losses form part of that wider restructuring effort.

Despite the changes, Westpac CEO Anthony Miller maintains that traditional branch banking ‘absolutely has a future’, noting that the bank is expanding its footprint in regional Australia.

However, he also pointed out that ‘96 per cent of what customers want to do can be done online’, leaving only a small fraction of interactions that still require in-person service.

Bank closures are spreading nationwide

Across the country, 155 branches have shut their doors over the past financial year.

Data shows Commonwealth Bank led with 49 closures, followed by Westpac with 25, ANZ with 21, and NAB with three. Smaller institutions such as BOQ and Bendigo Bank have also trimmed staff and locations.

At ANZ, chief executive Nuno Matos recently announced plans to cut 3,500 jobs and 1,000 contractor roles to ‘simplify the bank’.

NAB’s restructure will see about 410 roles removed, while Commonwealth Bank briefly attempted to replace 45 staff with an AI chatbot before public backlash forced it to reverse the move.

What it means for older Australians

For many older Australians, the local branch has long been more than a place to bank—it’s where relationships and trust are built.

As the shift toward automation accelerates, those who struggle with digital tools or live in areas with unreliable internet are at risk of being left behind.

While banks promise that in-person service will remain part of the future, many customers are already seeing fewer staff, more machines, and less of the personal connection that once defined their local branch.

Read next: Is your local branch closing? Customers react to controversial bank closures

Key Takeaways

• Westpac has been criticised for cutting 134 teller jobs across 99 branches right before Christmas as part of its digital-first strategy, with the Finance Sector Union calling the move ‘heartless and disrespectful’.
• The job losses follow a September decision to phase out 200 teller and personal banker roles nationwide over 12 months, alongside the addition of 200 new lending positions.
• The bank says it’s supporting staff through retraining, redeployment, and a $5 million upskilling fund, though the union argues cuts are happening too soon.
• Other major banks, including ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth Bank, BOQ and Bendigo Bank, have also announced sweeping restructures and job reductions as they expand digital services.

Have you been affected by recent branch closures or job losses in your community? Do you still prefer face-to-face banking, or have you embraced digital tools? Share your experiences below—your voice matters as Australia’s banking landscape continues to evolve.