HSBC restarts plan to slash 35,000 jobs

In April, the bank had called a halt on the proposed layoffs, saying it did not want staff to be unable to find work elsewhere.
By: | June 19, 2020
Topics: Job Cuts | News | Restructuring

As part of a restructuring exercise aimed at achieving US$4.5 billion of cost cuts by 2022, HSBC will push ahead to cut 35,000 jobs globally.

In a memo to HSBC staff, chief executive Noel Quinn said the bank would try to find internal jobs for those affected but that redundancies were likely. “We could not pause the job losses indefinitely, it was always a question of ‘not if, but when’,” he added.

In April, HSBC announced that it was putting on hold the massive layoff, saying it did not want to leave affected staff unable to find work elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic. At its peak, the bank employed more than 300,000 employees, a figure that currently stands at about 235,000 before the proposed job cuts.

Under the restructuring plan first announced in February, HSBC said it would merge its private banking and wealth business, cut back its European equity business, and reduce its US retail network.

READ: HSBC to slash 35,000 jobs worldwide in “deepest restructuring” exercise

With the latest announcement, HSBC is also expected to halt almost all external recruitment, while other cuts will come from merging support roles in the commercial bank and investment bank, and the review of the less profitable areas of the bank’s business.