Westpac has brough over 1000 jobs back to Australia following a commitment in 2020 to roll back offshoring of customer facing contact roles.
The 1,075 jobs brought back onshore, split across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, primarily support Customer Assist, which directly helps customers impacted by Covid, and the mortgage process.
The move follows an admission by the lender that it had failed to keep up with a surge in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Westpac chief Peter King says: “Covid has resulted in some of the highest levels of customer contact we have seen, and the new roles are focused on helping our customers manage the impact of the pandemic for both themselves and their businesses.
“We continue to make changes that bolster how we support customers, and we will shortly have 100% of our customer calls answered by someone in Australia."
Training is underway for the final group of employees recruited and it is expected that the full transition of onshoring processes will be completed this year.
The switch is expected to boost productivity but will initially increase costs by around $45 million per annum. The bank will also continue to work with overseas partners, particularly when it comes to tech and operations.