The possible sale of Westpac’s New Zealand arm was a complete bombshell for bank staff, according to First Union. The union’s national finance organiser, Callum Francis, said the announcement was a total surprise for the bank’s New Zealand workforce of about 5000 people, and union members had no idea Westpac Australia was even looking at selling the business. “I can only imagine how shocked and terrible they are feeling about this. “This is an extremely volatile and topsy-turvy time for our members. Nobody is quite sure what the future looks like and whether they will necessarily have a job.” On Wednesday … (full story)