HSBC Holdings PLC might eliminate as many as 10,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive, according to a Financial Times (FT) report that signaled Europe might bear the brunt of the initiative.
The plan would result in a substantial reduction in HSBC’s workforce of about 238,000, the report said, citing two people briefed on the matter.
The bank, one of several European lenders eliminating roles, is questioning why it has so many people in the region when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one of the people told the newspaper.
The job cuts — on top of 4,700 redundancies flagged earlier — could be unveiled when HSBC reports its third-quarter results later this month, the report said.
The previous round was announced in August, when CEO John Flint abruptly departed after 18 months leading the bank.
Interim CEO Noel Quinn started working on the new plan days after he was appointed and has been told he is a leading internal candidate for the permanent role, the report said.
An HSBC spokesman declined to comment on the report.
European banks, including Deutsche Bank AG, Societe Generale SA and Barclays PLC, are cutting thousands of jobs, as low interest rates and a slowing economy weigh on their prospects.
HSBC has long been pivoting toward Asia, where it generated almost 80 percent of its pretax profit in the first half of the year.
HSBC has remained committed to its expansion in the region, even with the US-China trade dispute and Hong Kong’s protests swirling.
The bank last month said it was sticking with plans to hire more than 600 for its wealth business in Asia by the end of 2022, with more than half of those jobs to be added through this year.
Worried about its position as the biggest foreign bank in China, HSBC launched a public-relations offensive aimed at leaders in Beijing, Bloomberg reported last month.
The campaign “demonstrates our commitment to grow our business in China,” the bank said at the time.
During Flint’s short tenure as CEO, the bank grappled with a declining stock price and a failure to hit cost targets. In April, he started a cost review that was expected to lead to job cuts, including hundreds of investment banking positions.
Shortly after his ouster, Quinn told senior managers he wanted “less process and more action.”
Chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson in August said that the bank’s returns from Europe were “unacceptable,” while in the US, the bank said it would miss the return target it had set for next year.
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
IMAGE SENSORS: The Japanese company would be the controlling shareholder of the venture, with development and production lines to be set up in Kumamoto Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to create a joint venture to develop and produce next-generation images sensors. The partnership seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for innovations and expanded technological advancements, TSMC said in a statement. Sony would be the majority and controlling shareholder of the joint venture, the statement said, adding that the company would set up development and production lines in its newly constructed fab in Kumamoto Prefecture’s
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$600 billion at the end of last month, as investment gains, currency valuation effects and renewed foreign inflows offset volatility seen earlier in the month, the central bank said yesterday. Reserves stood at US$602.49 billion, up US$5.6 billion from the previous month, the central bank said. The rebound reflected returns on reserve assets, fluctuations in major currencies against the US dollar and the central bank’s market operations aimed at maintaining orderly trading conditions, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said. Financial markets were volatile early last month, with foreign investors recording net purchases
RSS