HSBC, the world's local bank and the world's biggest bank will cut off 4,000 of its UK employees as part of the move to transfer business to Asia where wages are far lower. Call centers will lose around 1,400 jobs while the remaining fraction will be in the administrative level. Prior to this, 3,000 jobs have already been transferred elsewhere. According to them, this is the only way for the bank to compete with the global market, which is essential to HSBC's continued success. Here's an article on the story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-200069/4-000-HSBC-staff-face-axe.html
Well I cannot say that I am surprised. It is just another story of a Western company moving jobs for cheaper labor, and it seems that this is a trend that is not going anywhere soon. I think that it is telling that jobs are coming from a big bank too, because those tend to jobs are not usually outsourced, at least not as often as in other industries. I hope that it does not have too big an impact on the British economy, but that many jobs lost will certainly have a significant effect.
I also think that it will definitely make a big impact on the British economy. Imagine where the 4,000 employees are heading into once the cutting off takes place. It will not only affect the individuals who worked with them but the families as well. Income will stop flowing and budgeting will be tighter for them.
I didn't know that HSBC is the world's largest bank. But I know that it is the central bank of Hongkong that's why the name Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. With that 4,000 UK residents to lose their jobs, that would affect the economy somehow because of that rise in unemployment. May question on the issue is this - is the retrenchment of personnel of HSBC connected to the sliding stock market of China? More likely it is not because of the lowering oil prices in the world market?
Unlkely this will have a significant impact on UK jobs as a whole. HSBC is keeping its main office in London for now and 4,000 jobs may seem a lot and no doubt this will have a significant impact on those individuals personally (most of whom I imagine will acquire jobs in the service sector initially) but not as significant an impact if the main office was pulling out of London completely. I agree with the point re: outsourcing, although the Chinese market is showing signs of outsourcing itself (to africa). Minimal impact on the UK economy as a whole, though.
It's not really going to affect the UK at all. I loathe this bank a they have already cut costs only having only one teller and a meeter and greeter getting people to use the machines for all transactions in many branches. Most staff were here on expat terms any how, so they will just relocate them back to where they came from. As for Indian call centers, there was such an uproar because no one could understand them, plus they couldn't deal with queries most companies switched back to a UK based center. Now, they have gone back on this, so expect more customers leaving.
Aren't HSBC one of the big four banks in the UK that received financial assistance from the UK government (tax payers money) to bail them out, but still haven't paid it back? Haven't they also just paid out nearly a billion pound in bonuses to its management team? And now they're slowly moving to Asia (the head office will go eventually) cutting thousands of UK jobs, and effectively kicking the UK in the balls, after it was us, the UK that helped it out in the first place?
