HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's largest bank by market value, plans to cut 500 jobs in Asia due to the global economic slump.
The cuts will be made in various parts of the business, including back office functions, with about 450 jobs in Hong Kong to be shed, the London-based lender announced to employees yesterday.
The bank decided to trim its work force because of "organizational changes in a number of areas as well as the deteriorating economic conditions and our cautious outlook for 2009," Peter Wong, an executive director for Hong Kong and China, said in an internal message released by the bank.
"In this day and age no guarantees of job security can be given," he said.
In September, the bank announced 1,100 job cuts worldwide in the wake of the financial turmoil.
HSBC has been hit hard by the financial crisis.
The bank was forced to write down the value of its assets by USD 4.9 billion in the third quarter, as the cost of bad loans in the US continued to mount and the credit market faltered.
