HSBC France will cut 235 out of 678 jobs in its investment banking division, or a third of the workforce, and dry layoffs are not excluded, AFP learned from several union sources on Tuesday.
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The management of HSBC France presented to employee representatives on Monday a job protection plan (PSE) for its corporate and investment banking activity, concentrated in Paris. He plans to cut 235 out of 678 positions by the end of 2021, according to union sources, who confirm information from the newspaper Les Échos .
The PSE includes " part of voluntary departures and part of economic redundancies ", said AFP Eric Poyet of HSBC FO.
When contacted, the management of HSBC France indicated that it had presented " a project for its corporate, investment and market banking activities " in France. " Its principle would be to reallocate capital and resources in the face of the structural challenges of this activity, to focus on profitable activities, to reduce the cost base and to defend our competitiveness ", specifies the French subsidiary in a declaration transmitted to AFP.
Highlighting its global network, HSBC France claims to create " an integrated European continental bank anchored in Paris ", " with a strong proposal focused on transactional banking, financing and markets ". " This is part of the new strategic directions of the bank, which wants to redress and safeguard the competitiveness of its Global Banking and Markets activity ", its investment and market banking, said the CFDT.
According to the latter, the management is considering voluntary departures with assisted pensions, retirement and solidarity leave (CFCS) and departure aid measures to carry out professional projects. " But there will not be enough volunteers, the age pyramid is not favorable to age measures ", she underlines, because " it is traders, rather young, who are mainly concerned ". " There will inevitably be layoffs at the end, " she regrets.
" A taboo has fallen " with the evocation by the management of " economic redundancies ", judges Mr. Poyet, according to which also " everything suggests that there will not be enough volunteers ". " We load the boat using the pandemic as an excuse ," criticizes the FO delegate, denouncing a " windfall effect ".
Management also plans to " transfer certain activities from Paris to Hong Kong, the cradle of the bank ", namely " structured rate and equity products ", and it intends "to reduce the number of clients who do not report enough and cost in capital, "adds the CFDT, which is concerned that the loss of many" large customers "will" damage the image of HSBC ".
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The British giant announced in mid-June that it would relaunch its restructuring plan providing for 35,000 job cuts worldwide out of 235,000, after having suspended it for a time during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The next social and economic committee (CSE) at HSBC France is scheduled for Friday.
Regarding HSBC's retail banking in France, the question of a possible sale remains open. If the network is not sold, it could in turn be restructured, fear the unions, which expect to be fixed by the end of the year.