HSBC layoffs 2020: London-based bank to axe up to 35,000 jobs in massive overhaul

In a drastic overhaul, HSBC Holdings on Tuesday, February 18, said that it will axe at least 35,000 jobs as it posted a fall of 33 per cent in annual profit. The bank would shed $100 billion in assets, slashing the size of its investment bank and refurbishing its United States and European businesses.

Europe's biggest bank by assets, which has long underperformed rivals, reported profit before tax of $13.35 billion for 2019 versus $19.89 billion a year earlier.

The bank, which makes the bulk of its revenue in Asia, is seeking to become leaner and more competitive as it tries to grapple with a swathe of challenges such as slowing growth in its major markets, the coronavirus outbreak, Britain's withdrawal from the European Union as well as lower central bank interest rates.

What Noel Quinn has to say

"The totality of this program is that our headcount is likely to go from 235,000 to closer to 200,000 over the next three years," Noel Quinn, interim chief executive, told news agency Reuters. Some of that will be managed through natural attrition as people leave the bank, he confirmed.

HSBC is in more than 50 countries across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia - with the latter accounting for roughly half of its revenue and 90% of profit.

(With agency inputs)