British bank HSBC is set to overhaul its operations by axing thousands of jobs globally. The bank is planning to get rid of 2 per cent of its workforce, which is roughly 4000 jobs, as part of a restructuring exercise to deal with global turmoil, as per their statement released on Monday.
However, the bank has said that its Singapore business “remains key” to its growth. The bank, which makes more than 80 per cent of its profit in Asia, has not specified whether the job cuts would extend to its Singapore unit.
HSBC had 235,217 employees as of December 2018, according to its latest annual report and its jobs cuts will “target more senior ranks,'' according to chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson. The bank will pay out a total of USD 650 million to USD 700 million in severance costs.
HSBC on Monday also announced the shock exit of chief executive John Flint after just 18 months in the job. His exit reportedly comes as a result of differences of opinion with the chairman over Mr Flint’s tentative approach to cutting expenses and setting revenue targets for senior managers to boost profit growth.
Also read: Deustche Bank axes Asia-Pacific teams in global jobs cut
HSBC is one of several European banks cutting jobs as part of operations overhauls. Germany’s Deutsche Bank axed 18,000 employees in July, London-based Barclays cut 3,000 jobs and France’s Societe Generale said in April it would cut 1600 jobs.
