HSBC Poised To Unveil Thousands More Job Cuts

HSBC will next week set out plans to cut thousands more jobs across its global workforce as it tries to reassure shareholders that its focus on costs remains undiminished after a series of reputational crises.

Sky News understands that Stuart Gulliver, HSBC's chief executive, will set out a revised target for headcount reductions that will be implemented by the end of 2017 at an investor day next week.

The precise job cuts number that will be outlined by Mr Gulliver on June 9 was unclear on Monday, although insiders said that it was likely to be between 10,000 and 20,000.

One source said the numbers were still being worked on and had yet to be finalised.

Europe’s biggest lender employed 258,000 people at the end of last year, but it has already abandoned a target set two years ago to reduce its employee base to between 240,000 and 250,000 by 2016 because of the fast-changing nature of bank regulation.

It is understood that the headcount reductions figure announced next week will exclude the potential impact of the sale of HSBC's operations in Brazil and Turkey, where the bank does not disclose how many people work for it.

Sky News revealed in April that HSBC had hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the Brazilian business, which is expected to be worth several billion dollars.

The new jobs figure will also not take account of a possible eventual separation of HSBC's UK arm, which Mr Gulliver said last month was conceivable because of a requirement for big UK lenders to create separate ring-fenced entities by 2019.

Shareholders will be anxious for an update next week on the methodology for reviewing the location of its headquarters, which will conclude by the end of the year.

Hong Kong, where HSBC was domiciled until its takeover of the Midland Bank in the early 1980s, is seen by analysts as the likeliest destination if it does decide to relocate.

City institutions have argued for some time that George Osborne’s Bank Levy, which applies disproportionately to UK-based lenders, has made investing in HSBC less attractive because it has eroded Mr Gulliver’s ability to grow its dividend.

The investor presentation will be an important moment for Mr Gulliver, who has made significant strides in restructuring HSBC since taking over in 2011.

He has sold scores of businesses and taken on thousands more compliance staff as regulatory oversight of the industry has intensified.

While investors have largely backed his strategy of simplifying HSBC's structure, the journey under his leadership has been bumpy, with fines for misconduct dating back to the period before he took over totalling billions of pounds.

It continues to face sizeable penalties from US authorities for attempting to manipulate foreign exchange markets, while a number of regulators continue to probe the Swiss tax evasion scandal which re-emerged earlier this year.

HSBC declined to comment ahead of next week’s presentation.