Friday, February 3, 2012

Westpac boss Gail Kelly refuses to rule out further sackings; says St George Bank duplicatation related to job cuts; won't commit to passing on further rate cuts in full.

The chief executive of Westpac has defended the bank's decision to axe up to 560 jobs to protect its big profits which she says are being threatened by a slowing global and local economy.

Here's my interview with Gail Kelly broadcast on this morning's edition of AM.

Full coverage on ABC News Online.

Gail Kelly, who's been running Westpac since 2008, is dealing with a squeeze on last year's six billion dollar profit as fewer people take out loans and cautious households pay down debt.

Mrs Kelly refused to rule out further job cuts and said the sackings were related to duplications caused by the merger with St George Bank in 2008.

While the news isn't good for some Westpac staff, it's also uncertain for bank customers with Mrs Kelly refusing to commit to passing on future interest rate cuts in full.


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