HSBC is engaging in another round of cost cutting, which will include job cuts primarily centred in Europe and higher-paid roles globally, as interim chief executive Noel Quinn looks to put his stamp on the bank, according to people familiar with the discussions. The expense cutting is on top of previously announced plans to eliminate less than 2 per cent of the bank’s workforce and reduce the bank’s wage costs by 4 per cent over the course of 2019. As of June 30, the bank, which is based in London, but generates much of its revenue in Asia, had 237,685 full-time employees worldwide and had an additional 9,647 contractors. The Financial Times reported on Monday that as many as 10,000 jobs could be eliminated as part of the latest round of cutbacks by the bank, which shrunk its global footprint after the financial crisis and pivoted to Asia. The latest cost cuts do not represent a shift in strategy and Asia is still viewed as a growth engine by HSBC’s top management, said a person familiar with the bank’s plan, but not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. As a result, HSBC would continue to hire “revenue-generating” employees in areas it plans to increase its presence in Asia, the person said. HSBC declined to comment. Asia accounted for 55 per cent of the company’s employees last year and nearly 80 per cent of HSBC’s US$12.5 billion in adjusted profit before tax in the first half of this year. The cost-cutting programme comes two months after John Flint’s surprise departure as CEO amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment and rising tensions between the United States and China, a key market for HSBC’s future growth. Under his predecessor Stuart Gulliver, the lender, once known in its advertising as the “world’s local bank”, had cut thousands of jobs, shrunk its global footprint from 87 countries to 67 and spent tens of millions of dollars to revamp its compliance following a scandal over its money-laundering controls that saw it pay US$1.9 billion in a settlement with US authorities. HSBC reshuffles decks as it braces for more challenging times Flint declared in June of last year that it was time for the bank “to get back into growth mode”, but growing geopolitical tensions and a more dovish stance by central banks caused a dramatic shift in the operating environment. Mark Tucker, the HSBC chairman, said in August that the decision to replace Flint was about the bank’s future and cited the “pace, ambition and decisiveness” of interim CEO Quinn as “absolutely essential” to capitalising on “the opportunities ahead”. Quinn, who had headed global commercial banking since December 2015 and previously served as regional head for commercial banking in Asia-Pacific, is seen internally as a top candidate to retain the CEO role. The search for Flint’s successor is expected to take six to 12 months, which would give Quinn time to audition for the top role. One area being considered is the potential sale of HSBC’s retail bank in France, which would reduce the bank’s headcount by thousands of jobs, according to people familiar with the bank’s plans. The planned job reductions come as many of HSBC’s rivals, including Deutsche Bank and Nomura Holdings, have cut back their workforces amid a volatile market environment, where a trade war that has raged between the US and China for more than a year has weighed on business sentiment and future investment. The weakening economic environment also has caused central banks, particularly the US Federal Reserve, to move from a tightening stance to lowering interest rates in hopes of boosting economies. HSBC’s CEO makes surprise departure as bank seeks new growth In the months before Flint’s departure, HSBC began working to reduce its costs in hopes of still achieving a return on tangible equity target exceeding 11 per cent in 2020. In August, Ewen Stevenson, HSBC’s chief financial officer, said the lender realised it would need to reduce costs, including lay-offs and the reduction of roles through “natural attrition”, as its outlook for revenue growth has softened. “Broadly, we are adding headcount where we see good growth and good returns. Various parts of Asia and Hong Kong would fall into that bucket,” Stevenson said in discussing the prior cost cuts in August. “We’re cutting headcount in other areas where there isn’t the same growth and return dynamic.”