Celebrating its contribution to helping the needy in Hong Kong over the past 30 years on one side of its headquarters in Central yesterday, HSBC faced stern criticism from protesters on the other side over its plan to lay off 3,000 people. Several senior managers, including HSBC Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong Tung-shun, suddenly withdrew from attending the event, held a day after the bank announced it would axe about 10 per cent of its local workforce by the end of 2013. The ceremony was held to mark the 30th anniversary of the Hongkong Bank Foundation, a charity trust, on the ground floor of its Queen's Road Central entrance at 3pm. At the same time, labour unions and political parties continued their demonstration on the other side of the building on Des Voeux Road, stuffing 'pork belly' and a 'broken rice bowl' into the mouth of the bank's bronze lion to criticise its layoff plan. The Confederation of Trade Unions said the redundancy plan was shameless and it was ironic the bank held an event 'showcasing that it is a firm with social responsibility' at such a time. 'The bank is making a huge profit but it is still planning to lay off so many workers. It is unacceptable,' unionist legislator Lee Cheuk-yan said, adding that he was worried that other banks would follow suit. The Federation of Trade Unions' Hong Kong Banking Employees Association said it was sad that many hardworking staff who had helped the bank to weather the financial crisis would be told to leave. 'Many workers have to work late until 9 to 10pm every day. We are very surprised how the bank can lay off so many staff,' association chairwoman Lee Lai-ching said. Labour chief Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said after attending the ceremony that he was concerned by the redundancy plan. 'HSBC's decision is an individual one and does not reflect a trend in the labour market,' he said. He hoped the bank would minimise the impact of the redundancies and take the wishes of affected staff into full consideration. HSBC's share price has been under pressure for several months, dropping 23.94 per cent since March 8. Shares rose 0.78 per cent on Wednesday after news of the job cuts. It rose 5 cents, or 0.08 per cent, to HK$64.65 yesterday. James Antos, a senior analyst at Mizuho Securities, said: 'The Hong Kong government should be worried because this might signal the beginning of a wave of job reductions among banks.' 25,000 The number of worldwide job cuts announced by HSBC last month, on top of 5,000 lay-offs in late July - about 10 per cent of the global staff
