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Most
of the staff affected were being informed about the cuts on
Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.The
majority of the roles are based in London, Sheffield and
Tankersley and all the jobs will disappear by the end of this
year, the source said. "As part of a global relocation exercise,
around 840 non-customer-facing IT roles will transfer from the
UK to other sites around the world," John Hackett, chief
operating officer of HSBC UK, said in a statement. The bank
unveiled its three-year restructuring plan last year, designed
to pare back its sprawling global network by shutting
underperforming businesses to improve earnings hurt by high
compliance costs, fines and low interest rates.
The restructuring will eventually eliminate one job in five
around the world, and around a sixth of jobs in Britain.
When the restructuring plan was announced, Chief Executive
Officer Stuart Gulliver said most of the job losses in Britain
would come from employees leaving on their own accord.The Unite
union said many of the jobs will now be offshored to lower
income countries such as India, China and Poland.
"HSBC's decision to axe so many IT jobs is as ruthless as it is
reckless," said Dominic Hook, national officer at Unite. "As IT
glitches across the banks continue to prove, it is ultimately
the customers who will suffer the consequences."Problems with
HSBC's computer system cut customers off from access to online
accounts on two occasions this year.
HSBC has 47,000 UK workers at the end of December, according to
its most recent annual report. More cuts are expected over the
coming months as the bank continues to consolidate IT and back
office operations, the sources said.
HSBC's shares remained flat on Monday, in line with the
benchmark FTSE 100 index <.FTSE>. The lender's shares have
fallen 20 percent this year as tough global market conditions
have hammered trading revenues for banks worldwide.
(Editing by Sinead Cruise and Peter Graff)
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