Latest news with #AnthonyMiller
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Animal cruelty is child abuse by another name
Regarding the article on "Four charged after 38 dogs, 7 ferrets found inside Bethel home filled with feces, urine" (May 30): It's a shame our existing laws aren't "pro-animal." For those monsters to treat those poor dogs and ferrets the way they were found should be upgraded to a felony, as opposed to a first-degree misdemeanor. Cruelty to animals should be treated the same as cruelty to children. They're also innocent recipients of violence, unable to defend themselves. As a lover of animals, I'm more than fed up with abusers getting away with light sentences. These four people allowed 38 dogs to live with their fur matted with feces and urine and with feces on the floor, "several inches deep." Most of the dogs were Chinese Crested, so small dogs. Envision that. If the smell of urine and feces disgusted Deputy Dog Warren Sarah Steele, imagine what it truly was. Again, Terri Sprague, Christopher Davis, Vicki Miller, and Anthony Miller deserve more than 180 days, per count, the maximum sentence a first-degree misdemeanor garners. Sprague faces 41 counts of cruelty to a companion animal. Vicki Miller faces four counts of cruelty to a companion animal and 34 counts of complicity. Davis and Anthony Miller each face one count of cruelty to a companion animal and 34 counts of complicity. There are not enough years these four can serve behind bars, in my opinion, to make their actions right for what they did to these innocent souls. Sherie Kelly, Colerain Township This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bethel animal abusers deserve felony charges for their cruelty |Letter
Finextra
7 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Westpac pilots AI assistant to help staff deal with customers who have been scammed
Westpac has built an AI assitant to help support staff deal with customers who think they've been scammed. 0 The real-time call assistant technology is being integrated within the bank's frontline customer service and operations platforms. The AI synthesises information from customer phone conversations as they take place to highlight key indicators enabling bankers to respond more effectively. Currently being piloted in the bank's specialist scam and fraud team, the AI can aid operators with live transcripts, provide alerts when key indicators are detected and offer prompts to help reach an outcome more efficiently. It can also help uncover instances where a scammer may be coaching a customer in the background. Westpac CEO Anthony Miller says: 'Our customer service specialists are often trying to solve complex puzzles with many missing pieces. In urgent circumstances, like when a customer thinks they've been scammed, these calls can be very emotive with lots of information that our operators need to synthesise very quickly. This AI tool is helping fill some of those gaps and is aiding our teams in real-time so they can more effectively respond. 'Early results from our pilot demonstrates the potential this technology has to unlock faster and more effective and consistent outcomes for customers in important moments.' The technology is one of the first frontline AI innovations running through the bank's 'AI Accelerator', bolstering its scam detection and prevention capabilities. 'Beyond scams and fraud this tool has significant potential," says Miller. "While still in trial phase we're already thinking about how the AI could be deployed elsewhere in the bank to improve and streamline how our bankers support customers.'
7NEWS
21-05-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
Westpac Bank slammed over reports it will ‘brutally cut' more than 1500 jobs despite massive profits
More than 1500 Westpac employees will lose their jobs if reported redundancies are brought forward in coming months. The cuts come as the banking giant plans to simplify its technology systems and restructure its workforce, the Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday. Westpac has more than 30,000 employees, with almost 5000 employed in the past year, a spokesperson told But CEO Anthony Miller has asked most managers to consider how they would cull 5 per cent of their teams, unauthorised sources told AFR. A Westpac spokesperson was unable to confirm those numbers or directions when contacted by but said: 'We adjust the composition of our workforce according to our investment priorities.' The impending cuts come on top of almost 1000 job cuts over the past year, the Finance Sector Union said on Wednesday. 'Westpac employees have faced ongoing uncertainty and significant job losses over the past few years with more job cuts now under a new 'business-led simplification program' (called) UNITE,' the union's national president Wendy Streets said. 'As the new CEO, Anthony Miller had an opportunity to invest in his existing, dedicated workforce. He appears to be choosing not to do so. 'This is deeply disappointing, particularly as Westpac posted a net profit of $7 billion just last year. 'Our members have worked hard to turn massive profits for Westpac over the years, they deserve to be rewarded and not have their jobs brutally cut for the sake of cost-savings and even bigger profits.' Collateral damage for 'costs and investment' The bank asserted that a focus on investment in a changing industry landscape will continue to push certain jobs onto the company chopping block. 'While we continue to invest in extra bankers and customer-facing roles, other programs and initiatives may need fewer resources,' the Westpac spokesperson told 'This means from time to time we make changes that may impact some roles and responsibilities as we actively manage costs and investment. 'As the skills and capabilities required in banking continue to evolve, so will our workforce. 'We try to keep as many employees as we can, through retraining and redeployment. For those who leave, we help them with tailored support and assistance with career transition.' AFR reports Miller made changes to the executive team soon after taking the top job in December, outlining smaller margins due to the bank entering the business-lending market — a move which reportedly yielded early results that disappointed investors.
Mint
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Westpac Plans to Eliminate More Than 1,500 Jobs, AFR Reports
(Bloomberg) -- Westpac Banking Corp. is planning to cut more than 1,500 jobs in the bank's biggest redundancy in a decade as it strives to meet ambitious cost reduction targets, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing unidentified people. The overhaul involves transforming the business by simplifying its processes and technology under a plan known as Unite. It comes after the appointment in December of Chief Executive Officer Anthony Miller, who has already made significant changes to the executive team, including poaching Nathan Goonan from rival National Australia Bank Ltd. as chief financial officer. Miller has asked managers to consider how they will reduce the number of employees by 5% across most teams within the next few months, the report said, citing two people not authorized to discuss the briefings publicly. The report said a final number of staff exits had not been decided. 'While we continue to invest in extra bankers and customer-facing roles, other programs and initiatives may need fewer resources,' a spokesperson for the Sydney-based bank said. 'This means from time to time we make changes that may impact some roles and responsibilities as we actively manage costs and investment.' Based on Westpac's last publicly available full-time head count, a 5% reduction in the number of employees would mean 1,700 staff will leave. That is on top of around 900 full-time roles cut in the last financial year, the report said. Westpac shares have fallen more than 5.8% since the bank reported results earlier this month. The bank has been pushing into lower margin business-lending which has impacted earnings, the report said. --With assistance from Adam Haigh. (Adds comments from Westpac spokesperson in fourth paragraph) More stories like this are available on
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Westpac reportedly prepares to cut 1500 jobs in massive redundancy round
Banking giant Westpac is reportedly preparing to cut an estimated 1500 jobs. The massive redundancy push, first reported in the AFR on Tuesday evening, would cull about five per cent of the bank's 35,969 employees. A Westpac spokeswoman declined to confirm the 1500 figure but said the bank would adjust the composition of its workforce according to its investment priorities. 'While we continue to invest in extra bankers and customer-facing roles, other programs and initiatives may need fewer resources,' the spokesman told NewsWire. 'This means from time to time we make changes that may impact some roles and responsibilities as we actively manage costs and investment. As the skills and capabilities required in banking continue to evolve, so will our workforce.' The spokesman also said the bank would try to keep as many employees as it could and would look for 'retraining and deployment' opportunities. New Westpac CEO Anthony Miller is moving to simplify the bank's operations and embed more technology into its services, which he flagged in a recent presentation to investors this month. In a slide on 'cost reset benefits', the ASX-listed bank said it wanted to achieve a 'simpler operating model', a 'reduced branch footprint' and ramp up 'digitisation' as part of its larger 'Unite' strategy. The bank is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence and told investors it had established four reusable AI solution patterns, delivered eight AI solutions and was 'constructing' a further 14 AI solutions. Westpac paid out about $3bn to its employees over the half-year, the presentation revealed. The redundancies come despite the behemoth posting healthy profits and revenues for the first half of the 2025 financial year. The bank reported $3.3bn in profits for the six-month period, a 1 per cent dip of its performance in 2024, while revenues were flat at $10.95bn. The latest round of redundancies also follows a slow drip of cuts and branch downsizing from the big four banks in recent years. In February last year, Westpac announced the closure of about 20 branches across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. In 2023, Westpac, NAB, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ all announced substantial cuts with the total number of job losses from the giants hitting more than 2000. The Finance Sector Union has been contacted for comment.
