HSBC may slash up to 10,000 jobs to cut costs: FT
Workers in highly-paid roles and positions in Europe could be the first to go, according to a Financial Times report.
HSBC Holdings Plc is planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs as interim Chief Executive Noel Quinn seeks to reduce costs across the banking group, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The plan represents the global bank’s most ambitious attempt in years to cut costs, the newspaper said, citing two people briefed on the matter.
It said the cuts, which target more than four percent of HSBC’s workforce, will focus mainly on highly-paid roles.
One of the sources cited by FT questioned the need for so many people in Europe when the bank has double-digit returns in Asia.
HSBC could announce the beginning of the latest cost-cutting drive and job cuts when it reports third-quarter results later this month, the FT said, citing one person briefed on the matter.
Quinn became interim CEO in August after the bank announced the surprise departure of John Flint, saying it needed a change at the top to address “a challenging global environment”.
Flint’s exit after just 18 months on the job was a result of differences of opinion with chairman Mark Tucker over topics including approaches to cutting expenses, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in August.
The reported job cuts come after the lender said it would be laying off about 4,700 people this year, and issued a gloomier business outlook with an escalation of a trade war between China and the United States, an easing monetary policy cycle, unrest in its key Hong Kong market and Brexit.
HSBC has a headcount of roughly 238,000 currently and is the latest in a slew of banks to have announced job cuts this year, including Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Citibank.
HSBC declined to comment.