The British banking giant HSBC is preparing to cut 10,000 new jobs, according to the Financial Times on Monday, two months after the surprise departure of its boss and an initial announcement of 4,000 job cuts, in the face of the many challenges to be met between war trade, Brexit and low rates.
These new layoffs are mainly in high-paying positions and are part of a new cost-cutting campaign led by new boss Noël Quinn. He succeeded John Flint, who left in early August.
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“We’ve known for years that we need to do something about our operating costs, the biggest component of which is employees,” an unnamed source quoted by the business daily said. “There is very difficult modeling going on. One wonders why we have so many people in Europe when we have double-digit returns in parts of Asia.”
In early August, the London-based bank announced the sudden departure of its CEO John Flint after just 18 months in office, without giving a specific reason for the decision. At the same time, it had revealed that it would cut around 4,000 jobs, mostly in management positions, as part of a new restructuring aimed at coping with the global turmoil.
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Despite these alarmist announcements, its net profit published in the first half increased by 18.6% compared to the previous year to settle at 8.5 billion dollars. The bank is expected to release its third quarter results at the end of the month. Other big banks are also trying to cut costs.
Americans JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo in particular have lowered their 2019 profit forecasts, linked to interest rates, as central banks around the world ease their monetary policy in response to the weakening outlook for global growth. .
Lower interest rates mean less profit on loans made by banks, especially if they have offered higher yields on deposits to attract customers. And last month Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest lender, said it planned to cut the equivalent of 4,300 full-time jobs, or a tenth of its workforce, and close 200 branches as part of its restructuring. Deutsche Bank announced 18,000 job cuts, and Société Générale 1,600.
