LONDON: HSBC said yesterday it could ax up to 1,200 workers in Britain as Europe’s biggest bank strengthened measures to withstand the global financial crisis.
“There are difficult decisions that have to be made as we adapt to a new environment and ensure we are well positioned for the future,” said HSBC Managing Director Paul Thurston. “The operating environment for banks in the UK is extremely challenging and will remain so for some time,” he added.
HSBC, which employs 58,000 workers in Britain, said the plan to cut two percent of its work force there would hit its IT and human resources operations.
“HSBC today announced that 1,200 of its UK staff face potential redundancy following an operational review of its business,” the bank’s statement said.
Britain’s biggest union Unite claimed that HSBC’s British work force would be cut by 2,900 in 2009, but this would also include planned retirements.