One of Europe’s largest banks has announced a dramatic restructuring that could see as many as 25,000 members of staff lose their jobs.
HSBC, currently based in London but thought to be considering a move to Asia, has announced that it is planning to saving around $5bn a year as part of its restructuring effort.
CEO Stuart Gulliver has said that most of these jobs will be replaced by automation
Most of these jobs are likely to be in the bank’s UK businesses, with around 8,000 British employees likely to leave. CEO Stuart Gulliver has said that most of these jobs will be replaced by automation, with the bank determined to improve efficiency across its global operations. The bank’s current global workforce is around 257,000, although this figure is significantly lower than the 296,000 of 2011. HSBC is also axing some of its other global operations, including its subsidiaries in both Brazil and Turkey.
Earlier this year, the bank revealed that it was considering moving its headquarters – currently at London’s Canary Wharf, where it has been since 1992 – to Hong Kong. While this would be a substantial blow to the UK’s status as a global financial powerhouse, it is in Asia where HSBC sees much of its future revenue streams. Gulliver added, “The world is becoming increasingly connected, with Asia expected to show high growth and become the centre of global trade over the next decade.”
HSBC has suffered a difficult couple of years lately, with around $11.2bn worth of regulatory charges imposed on it since 2011. At the same time, the global banking industry has undergone a big shift in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and Gulliver believes that HSBC needs to adapt to these changes. “We recognise the world has changed and we need to change with it.
