SINGAPORE, 29 SEPTEMBER 2008 – IT staff are among the 1,100 employees laid off by banking giant HSBC as it joins a lengthening list of institutions affected by the global financial squeeze.
According to HSBC spokesperson Gareth Hewett, 50 per cent of the affected personnel are based in the UK. The rest are spread among the bank’s operations in Asia, with 100 jobs expected to go in Hong Kong, while Singapore and Malaysia will be less effected. Four hundred and fifty positions are contract-based jobs. The bank is one of the largest in the world with 335,000 employees spread globally.
Cautious 2009 outlook
“The steps we have taken today are in the light of the current global business and economic environment and our cautious outlook for 2009,” explained Hewett.
However, he added that the bank remains optimistic. “Markets continue to be challenging and difficult but our strategy leaves us well-positioned for the next wave of global growth, when it comes,” he said.
Formerly known as Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, HSBC was founded in 1865 in Hong Kong and it eventually moved its head office to London in UK in 1993.
