On Thursday, reports surfaced that ANZ has released an internal memo outlining the company's plan to close its Mulgrave call center in Melbourne and will transfer around 600 jobs to New Zealand and the Philippines.

This was denied by ANZ spokesperson Stephen Ries in a statement released on the same day. He said the memo was merely a "draft proposal" to top management and that the fate of call centre jobs in Melbourne has not been decided. He squashed speculations that there are job relocation plans in the immediate future.

"Many ideas and proposals come up from time to time. They inevitably change. So, we're not going to speculate what's going to happen in the future," he said.

Mr. Ries assured Australian customers that ANZ's call centre headquarters would remain in Melbourne.

The offshoring plan, which according to ANZ insiders are still in its review phase, is seen to affect at least 340 jobs.

But according to Leon Carter, national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, it will not only affect Mulgrave call centre but also the ANZ office in South Melbourne. He said an additional 250 positions will also be cut if the company's plan gets implemented.

At present, companies are seriously looking into New Zealand because of lower staff delivery costs compared to Australia - this means lower training expenses as well cheaper office space rentals. It is reported that the Melbourne manpower costs are around 30 per cent while in New Zealand, the levels are just below 20 per cent.

There are approximately 150 ANZ call centre employees now assigned in New Zealand, while some credit card accounts are also being handled in Manila.

Meanwhile, Mr. Carter sounded sceptical about ANZ's denial. He claimed ANZ is just devising the plan to make it appear that it's still at the review phase. But based on experience, he said a company does not go "this far down the road without going ahead with the decision."

These latest developments have upset and brought anxiety among bank employees, according to Mr. Carter. He said there is no urgent need to plan such a move given ANZ's good business standing unlike others that declared losses like Ford.

"We're talking about people who go to work for one of the most profitable companies in this entire country who have no right to hold the ongoing employment of their workforce over their heads.''

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