Fegan fudges jobs question

A question and answer sheet issued from St George Bank chief executive Paul Fegan's office to staff on Tuesday shed little light on the question of how many jobs would be lost in the proposed merger with Westpac.

Fegan's office wrote in the note to staff: "We expect there will be some impact in terms of jobs; however at this stage details around this are not known. We also expect this merger to open many exciting opportunities for staff across the states."

In answer to a question about whether redundancies would be offered, he wrote: "We expect that this will be the case and in this situation we will consult with our key stakeholders."

Fegan was more confident in asserting that existing employment conditions would be maintained.

"Existing terms and conditions of employment will be maintained. Both organisations are very focused on providing their people with a great place to work, industry-leading staff benefits and are focused on work life balance."

Fegan said the Kogarah operations centre of St George (which in the late 1980s was the purpose-built head office) would be maintained. "Westpac has reinforced its commitment to maintaining a corporate presence in Kogarah."