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Speculation of more layoffs in the banking industry grew as DBS Bank (Hong Kong),  a local unit of Singapore's largest lender, started informing staff affected by its layoff plans announced last week.
Sources also said Citibank was cutting jobs, while Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, was expected to cut more than 100 jobs from among its 1,700 staff in the city.
Amy Yip, chief executive of DBS Bank (Hong Kong),  confirmed that the bank had started informing staff about layoffs.
DBS Group Holdings  said last week it would cut 900 jobs by the end of this month, mainly in its Hong Kong and Singapore operations, as the impact of the global economic crisis worsens in the region.
'I hope it's a one-off exercise,' Ms Yip said,  adding that the move affected all levels of the organisation. She declined to say how many Hong Kong staff would be affected.
DBS employees said they heard 600 staff in Hong Kong and 300  in Singapore would be laid off.   The bank has about 4,200 staff in the city.
'The number of 600 is incorrect,' a source said, adding that  it could be higher than 6 per cent of the total staff.
Citibank yesterday was also rumoured to be cutting jobs. A market source said half the sales team in the mortgage department would be laid off.
A Citibank spokesman said: 'We regularly review our operations and resources to ensure that our operations are run in an efficient manner in any market situation.'
Another source said Hang Seng Bank had also cut sales staff in its mortgage team, however, a spokeswoman for Hang Seng denied the layoffs.
'The layoffs in the banking industry will continue,' said Billy Mak Sui-choi,  an associate professor in Baptist University's department of finance and decision science.
Meanwhile, about 33 workers from the Hong Kong sourcing office of US retailer Target are to be laid off at the end of January. Most of the cuts will affect the sourcing and auditing departments.



DBS layoffs take their toll as banking sector braces for more bad news