HSBC is to undertake a cull of 1200 UK staff, with the cuts affecting back office processing, IT, human resources and finance roles. Finance sector union Unite says a further 1700 jobs will disappear as positions are not filled when employees move on.
The bank is briefing staff about the redundancy programme Wednesday. It says an operation centre in Leamington Spa, near Warwick, will lose 280 positions and a call centre in Newport, Wales, will be shut down with the loss of 90 jobs. In Leeds, 70 people in call centre and HR roles face redundancy, and about 150 jobs will be lost in London.
Announcing the cuts, HSBC managing director Paul Thurston says the operating environment for banks in the UK is "extremely challenging".
"There are difficult decisions that have to be made as we adapt to a new environment and ensure we are well positioned for the future."
Finance sector union Unite reacted angrily to the latest round of redundancies, which follow the loss of 500 jobs from the bank's London HQ in December.
"Unite can see no justification for the efficient and dedicated staff in the UK to lose their jobs and all basic and standard current accounts to be serviced from India," says the union in a statement, which suggests that up to 2900 UK roles could be in jeopardy.
The union says that more jobs will be lost through attrition, as posts are not filled during natural wastage.
Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, says: "HSBC is using clever accounting to mislead the public and staff about the number of jobs they intend to cut from the UK. Their approach today is totally disgraceful."