Westpac is cutting 200 bank teller jobs but not reducing headcount across the business.

Staff were told in an email on Tuesday about the job losses, as Westpac looks to add 200 bankers to its home lending and small business divisions.

Despite commitments to not close bank branches, Westpac says cutting teller jobs is necessary for its “digital-first strategy”.

But the finance union says it is “callous” for Westpac to make tellers push customers onto digital platforms, ultimately doing themselves out of a job.

Some, not all, of the 200 affected staff will retrain as home lenders.

“Because of the investments we’re making, we’ve already started upskilling our people,” retail banking general manager Damien Macrae told staff in the email.

“In the past 12 months, we have seen 33 of our peo

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