(Oct 7): HSBC Holdings is embarking on a cost-cutting drive that threatens as many as 10,000 jobs, the Financial Times reported, citing two people briefed on the matter.
The bank, one of several European lenders eliminating roles, is questioning why it has so many people in Europe when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one of the people told the paper.
The job cuts – on top of the 4,700 redundancies announced earlier – could be announced when HSBC reports its third-quarter results later this month, according to the FT.
An HSBC spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The earlier cuts were announced in August, on the same day that Chief Executive Officer John Flint abruptly departed after 18 months leading the bank. It employed about 238,000 people as of June, according to its interim report.
The lender cited the demands of an “increasingly complex” environment as it removed Flint. During his short tenure as CEO, the bank grappled with a declining stock price, a high-profile sexual harassment case at its investment bank and a failure to hit cost targets.
In April, with Flint still in charge, HSBC started a cost review that was expected to lead to job cuts, including hundreds of investment banking positions.
Still, some pockets of growth remain intact. The bank said last month it’s sticking with plans to hire more than 600 for its wealth business in Asia by the end of 2022, with more than half of those jobs to be added through this year.
