HSBC are to make more than 8,000 staff members redundant in a bid to reduce costs and restructure the bank.
The bank, which currently employs more than 48,000 employees in the UK will make cuts in both its retail and investment banking operations, however, HSBC insist that with a staff turnover of more than 3,000 people, many of which are natural, they will look to keep redundancies and settlement agreements to a minimum.
In a statement by chief executive Stuart Gulliver, the changes and motivations for the cuts were revealed. He said: "We recognise that the world has changed and we need to change with it. That is why we are outlining the following strategic actions that will further transform our organisation.
“The 10-point plan aims to cut costs by up to $5bn (£3.25bn) and increase investment in Asia - particularly in China.
"Asia [is] expected to show high growth and become the centre of global trade over the next decade. Our actions will allow us to capture expected future growth opportunities."