In a major strategic overhaul, HSBC Holdings plc HSBC is planning to unveil thousands of additional job cuts on the upcoming Investor Day conference on Jun 9. This was first reported by Sky News.
Though the actual figures are not known, around 10,000–20,000 jobs are set to be slashed over the next two years. The primary reason behind such a massive reduction is to reassure investors about HSBC’s continued focus on expense-savings as well as its concerted efforts to improve profitability.
Notably, the impending job cuts are not expected to include the potential sale of HSBC’s operations in Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and the U.S. Also, the probable spin-off of the company’s UK division is excluded from the above-mentioned job-reduction figures.
Apart from the focus on job cuts, shareholders will be concerned about update on the methodology for reviewing the location of its headquarters (to be concluded by the end of this year). HSBC has been considering the decision to relocate its headquarters from London owing to the UK government’s increased Bank Levy.
In May 2013, HSBC had announced nearly 14,000 job cuts, to be effective by the end of 2016, which would have reduced its total employee strength to nearly 240,000–250,000. Also, the company’s strategy included a plan to save $3 billion in expenses (read more: HSBC to Cut Costs, Axe 14,000 Jobs).
However, HSBC had to abandon this job-cut target due to increased regulations that led to hiring of workers in compliance and risk management divisions. As of Mar 31, 2015, the bank had nearly 260,000 employees.
Of late, HSBC has been facing a number of probes and lawsuits that have significantly dented its reputation. The company has also been penalized billions of pounds by the regulators across the globe for its past business misconducts.
On a separate but important issue, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, has ordered that HSBC will have to face three lawsuits for alleged breach of its fiduciary duties as a trustee of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”). These RMBS had suffered losses of roughly $34 billion during the financial crisis.
Plaintiff investors – funds from BlackRock Inc. BLK, Allianz SE’s AZSEY Pacific Investment Management Co and TIAA-CREF – can pursue allegations of breach of contract and concealment of facts related to loans underlying 283 trusts. Notably, some of the accusations such as negligence and misrepresentation were dismissed by the judge.
Currently, HSBC sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Another foreign bank worth taking a note is UBS Group AG UBS, carrying the same Zacks Rank.
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