HSBC, one of the city's biggest employers, is to axe 3,000 jobs by the end of 2013 - approximately 10 per cent of its local workforce - as part of the bank's global restructuring.
The layoffs would affect all sections, said HSBC Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong Tung-shun. But the primary focus will be on support functions, such as legal, human resources and back office positions. Last month HSBC said it would cut at least 25,000 jobs worldwide in addition to the 5,000 layoffs announced in late July.
That represents about 10 per cent of the 296,000-strong global workforce as of the end of June.
The job cuts are part of the bank's effort to streamline itself. 'For all of HSBC's strengths as an organisation, and there are many, we can be needlessly complex and bureaucratic,' said an internal memo sent to staff yesterday. 'This complexity reduces our effectiveness and efficiency.'
Wong said job reductions, some of which would come through attrition, were being made in Hong Kong because HSBC wanted the bank's regional office to become much more efficient.
'When we talk about 3,000 job cuts, it's not in net reduction,' said Wong, adding that the bank would continue to hire on the front-end and invest for growth.
Louis Tse Ming-kwong, director of VC Brokerage, said: 'Three thousand is quite a huge number at first glance.' However, he added that because the reductions would be done over three years, it was not that surprising.