INDUSTRY-wide redundancies could cost up to 10,000 jobs in Australia in the next few months, as the global financial crisis bites the Australian economy.

The biggest round of job cuts in the local financial sector for more than a decade will be headlined by 2000 sackings as a result of the Westpac-St George bank merger.

Jobs are disappearing at the four major retail banks, and staff freezes have been ordered at investment banks and struggling fund management groups.

NAB yesterday cut 179 technology staff on top of the 264 revealed earlier this year, as the retail and investment banks aggressively cut costs.

A savage purge will occur at the struggling ABN AMRO, where 150 jobs will be cut as part of a review of the business by Royal Bank of Scotland.

As part of that, 400 workers at the bank will be made to justify their jobs, and the number of sackings could be higher.

The industry situation has become so bad that Merrill Lynch and Brisbane retail bank Suncorp have frozen hiring, which will cut staff numbers as positions are left vacant.

Suncorp has slashed 200 jobs as its management tries to arrest a cost blowout by merging the retail and business banking operations.

Macquarie Group, has put 600 property and real estate bankers on notice that jobs will be slashed across that division. Some may be redeployed to other divisions.

The real estate structured finance area is under review because of its lack of deal flow in recent months.

The largest redundancy program is expected to be at Westpac as it swallows smaller rival St George and cuts up to 2000 jobs.

“Westpac has no plans to cut any customer-facing staff,” a Westpac spokesman said.

Commonwealth Bank is believed to be preparing to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a cost-cutting exercise revealed last month, which will see about $370 million, or 5 per cent, slashed from its outgoings.

The nation’s biggest bank employs 38,000 people, but a spokesman last night ruled out “wholesale” reductions.

More than 40 senior bankers have been sacked from ANZ in the past few weeks, as the bank reduces management layers.

At Merrill Lynch about 20 bankers and staff have gone, while at Citi, the investment bank cut its small-cap research team.

UBS has reduced its banking operations by about 50 since the start of the year, while 10 bankers have left Goldman Sachs in recent weeks. The investment bank is currently undertaking performance reviews, with more staff expected leave the business.

Funds management group Perpetual has cut 40 positions in its corporate trust division.

It is likely this will only be the start and it is expected the unemployment numbers over the next 6 months will show just how difficult the economy has become.

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