HSBC to cut one in twenty jobs, says report

HSBC Holdings PLC (LON:HSBA) plans to axe up to 10,000 jobs, more than 4% of its workforce, in a bid by interim chief executive officer Noel Quinn to cut costs, 

Citing two insiders briefed on the plan, the FT reported that the job cuts will focus mainly on high-paid roles and are likely to be announced with the bank’s third quarter earnings on 28 October.

READ: HSBC boss steps down as the bank issues cautious outlook

The latest cuts come on top of over 4,000 redundancies already announced in August when former chief executive John Flint also said he would step down after just a year and a half in the role by “mutual agreement” saying that the bank needed new leadership to tackle the “challenging global environment”.

HSBC has warned escalating trade war tensions between China and the United States, cuts to interest rates, and unrest in its key Hong Kong market and Brexit are hitting business.

Other banks are taking similar measures. Deutsche Bank announced in July it would slash 18,000 jobs over three years as part of a radical reorganisation of the German bank, and Barclays made 3,000 employees redundant in August.

HSBC had 237,685 full-time employees at the end of June.

Shares were down 1% trading at 596.3p on Monday morning.

HSBC has declined to comment.

–Edited to add HSBC response

Story by ProactiveInvestors