Roles in ANZ’s Australian back office are the most under threat as the firm plans a new round of redundancies. ANZ, which according to its 2011 annual report had just below 49,000 employees globally at September 30, has not announced exactly how many jobs will go, but the Finance Sector Union understands that the lay-offs will total in the hundreds.

The bank is facing up to what it sees as funding-cost and revenue-generation pressures, despite its fiscal 2011 full-year net profit rising 19 per cent to $5.36bn.

Recruiters with knowledge of the firm say most of the cuts are targeted at Australia, rather than Asia. “ANZ is continuing to offshore roles – back-office staff, finance, operations, anything shared-services focussed – into lower-cost locations like India. In 2012 the majority of the damage looks like it will be to back-office jobs currently in Australia,” says one recruiter, who asked not to be named.

Another anonymous headhunter adds: “ANZ is no longer looking to be the number-one retail bank in Australia, but focussing on the Asia push.  Many of the functions you will see disappear will be those that can be outsourced, so anything non-client facing will most likely go.”

She also expects a slowdown in retail-branch recruitment as ANZ builds more online and mobile platforms. “Its new branch focus, which is a three-to-five-year project, will see branches becoming more like advice centres, where people talk about wealth strategies rather than doing menial day-to-day banking activities.”

Meanwhile, UBS analysts have warned that Australian banks may scrap 7,000 local jobs in the next two years as they battle weak credit growth. “We expect the banks to be heavily focused on their cost bases,” says the UBS note. “Solid reductions in headcount and discretionary costs are anticipated as banks react to the lower growth environment.”