HSBC To Lay Off 10,000 Staff, Financial Times Says

HSBC is planning to cut up to 10,000 staff, according to a report, just weeks after announcing the resignation of its chief executive and the axing of 4,000 posts amid a weak global outlook.

The latest losses, mostly in high-paid roles, are part of a fresh cost-cutting drive by interim boss Noel Quinn as the banking giant struggles to adjust to falling interest rates, Brexit and the Sino-US trade war, the Financial Times reported.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying: "We've known for years that we need to do something about our cost base, the largest component of which is people - now we are finally grasping the nettle.

"There's some very hard modelling going on. We are asking why we have so many people in Europe when we've got double-digit returns in parts of Asia."

The London-headquartered bank last month announced the shock exit of CEO John Flint after just 18 months in the seat but gave no reason for the decision.

At the same time it revealed it would axe 2 percent of its global workforce - about 4,000 jobs, mostly in management - in a new restructuring aimed at weathering the global turmoil.

Still, its reported first-half net profit rose 18.6 percent on-year to US$8.5 billion. It is due to report third-quarter earnings at the end of October.

Flint had replaced Stuart Gulliver, who himself pushed a massive restructuring programme to axe 50,000 jobs and exit core markets.

The latest cost-cutting drive is in line with other lenders who are battling global headwinds. (AFP)