HSBC mulls job cuts in investment banking to salvage margins: Report

August 2019 | HSBC – Reports suggest 150 employees laid off

HSBC Holdings is mulling over extensive job cuts  in the company’s investment banking unit to salvage its financials, sources told Bloomberg.

As many as 500 jobs are on the chopping block with Greg Guyett, who heads the Global Banking vertical, expected to begin the process by mid-June, the wire added. The vertical employs 24,000 in HSBC.

The report noted that this is part of the company’s latest move under the ‘Project Oak’ revamp, which seeks job reductions across the board to bring down expenses against gains.

The lender missed a year’s intended revenue increase and CEO John Flint has promised to hit the 2020 financial targets. He piled on the pressure and chastened around 400 senior managers in March for failing to clamp down costs, the wire noted.

The bank has faced deteriorating outlook and revenue pressures, especially due to exposure to businesses which have sunk, which has prompted the company's CEO to pressure top managers to cut costs.