Thousands of high-paid positions to be axed by HSBC in cost-cutting move

Thousands of highly paid heavyweights are facing an anxious wait following reports of mass job cuts at one of the world’s leading banks.

Up to 10,000 jobs could soon be lost as banking giant HSBC moves to cut costs in an “increasingly complex” environment.

According to a Financial Times report, HSBC Holdings plc is planning massive job cuts that could be announced later this month during the bank’s third-quarter results briefing.

The publication claimed most of the cuts would involve high-paid positions, and they come hot on the heels of a previous 4700 redundancies revealed in August.

Around 238,000 people are employed by HSBC globally, including almost 1900 in Australia.

The leak comes after a rocky period for the company following the sudden departure in August of CEO John Flint, who spent just 18 months in the role.

At the time, HSBC — which has a market capitalisation of $A180 billion — cited an “increasingly complex” environment as a reason for Mr Flint’s exit.

While he was in the position, the bank faced a number of setbacks, including a sexual harassment scandal, a falling stock price and an inability to meet cost targets.

One of the sources who spoke to the Times claimed HSBC was reconsidering the number of employees it has in Europe given the double-digit returns it has recorded in Asia.

The job losses are believed to be an attempt by acting chief Noel Quinn to shore up “immediate savings from across the banking group”.

Originally published as Thousands of high-paid positions to be axed by HSBC in cost-cutting move