By Sinead Cruise
LONDON (Reuters) – Some senior HSBC employees should brace for job losses following the bank’s latest restructuring, CEO Georges Elhedery told staff in a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
“Inevitably, some of our colleagues will face layoffs as we streamline dual senior positions,” Elhedery said in the memo after announcing one of the bank’s biggest overhauls in recent years.
The bank said on Tuesday it would merge some businesses and split its geographic footprint into East and West, as Elhedery puts its stamp on the Asia-focused lender by seeking to remove overlapping management roles to cut costs.
A bank spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memo but declined to comment further. The memo was previously reported by Bloomberg News.
“The leadership team will spend more time with you in the coming days to explain these changes in more detail and give you the opportunity to ask questions,” Elhedery told staff.
HSBC has split its operations into four divisions, namely UK, Hong Kong, corporate and institutional banking and asset banking.
These changes should “increase accountability for each of the companies, more clearly identifying underperforming areas,” said Morningstar analyst Michael Makdad.
The reorganization follows a similar reorganization by Barclays earlier this year, which split its operations into five units, a move that CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said would help clarify how each was performing.
