Australia's Westpac says cutting up to 400 jobs

SYDNEY Feb 2 (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp , Australia's third-largest lender, said on Thursday it is cutting up to 400 jobs, as the nation's lenders attack costs to protect profits amid slowing loan growth.

Westpac met with employees on Thursday to brief them about the job changes underway, with roles set to be axed in the head office, technology and operations teams.

"This is to adjust staff numbers to slower growth," Westpac spokeswoman Supreet Gosal said.

Westpac had identified 560 roles that would be impacted, but after attrition and redeployment within the group, the bank expected about 300-400 job cuts, Gosal said.

The bank workers' union said in January Australia's top banks were set to fire thousands of staff this year to offset low growth.

UBS banking sector analysts have put the number at 7,000.

Australia's top banks, including National Australia Bank , Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, are among the country's largest employers with close to 40,000 employees each on their rolls.

While job cuts in the global banking industry are common amid jittery markets, Australian banks are coming off more than a decade of almost uninterrupted growth that saw them adding staff, growing assets and boosting profits several-fold.

Last year, the four banks together made a record $25 billion in profits but credit growth has dropped to the lowest level since the 1970s as households increase savings and corporates pay down debt forcing banks to focus on cost controls.

In November, Westpac said total headcount fell by over 700 in the year to September 2011, with more falls seen in 2012.

So far this year ANZ has informed employees of several hundred job cuts, the bank union has said. (Reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)