The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
HSBC reveals plan to axe 35,000 jobs
The boss of HSBC has announced the bank’s biggest change in years as it prepares to cut its headcount by approximately 35,000 around the world, including jobs in the UK.
Interim chief executive Noel Quinn said the number of people employed by the lender will go from 235,000 to 200,000 over the next three years – reducing the bank’s workforce by 15%.
Finance chief Ewen Stevenson said there will be “meaningful” cuts in the UK where the bank employs around 40,000 people.
Dominic Hook, from the Unite union, said he is “seeking urgent discussions” with HSBC management to understand what it will mean for UK staff.
“Despite HSBC still making billions of dollars of profit, once again hardworking and dedicated staff have woken up to the news that their job could be at risk,” he added.
The bank did not give a breakdown of where job losses are expected, and it added that 25,000 people leave the business every year of their own accord.
Smart hiring around these departures could allow HSBC to cut figures without firing too many people, bosses stressed.
The move comes as HSBC plans to slash more than $100 billion (£77bn) from its risk-weighted assets.
Banks must hold capital against assets, such as loans, based on their riskiness, so that they can take the blow if the asset is lost.
HSBC reported a 33% fall in pre-tax profit for 2019 to $13.35bn (£10.2bn) – below analysts’ expectations.
The bank said the drop was due to “a goodwill impairment” of $7.3bn (£5.6bn).
“This arose from an update to longterm economic growth assumptions, which impacted a number of our businesses,” HSBC’S annual results statement said.
The company warned that the outbreak of coronavirus had caused “significant disruption” for its business, especially in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Its headquarters are in London but almost half of its revenue and nearly 90% of profit came from Asia in 2018, with much of that derived from Hong Kong.
Shares in HSBC fell 38.8p to 551.9p yesterday.