The plan represents the lender’s most ambitious attempt in years to slash costs, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing two people briefed on the matter. HSBC could announce job cuts when it reports third-quarter results later this month, one person briefed on the matter told the newspaper. HSBC declined to comment.
Quinn became interim CEO in August after the bank announced the surprise departure of John Flint, who disagreed with chairman Mark Tucker over topics including approaches to cutting expenses, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in August. Since then, Quinn has been saying the bank needed a change at the top to address “a challenging global environment.”
The reported job cuts come after the lender said it would be laying off about 4,000 people this year, and issued a gloomier business outlook due to several international instabilities, including escalation of a trade war between China and the United States, an easing monetary policy cycle, unrest in its key Hong Kong market and Brexit.