HSBC’s CEO is reportedly contemplating cutting 20,000 jobs in the coming years, primarily in middle and back offices. CEO Georges Elhedery is looking to leverage AI to trim expenses, with potential staff reductions also coming from business sales. This move would affect about 10% of HSBC’s 210,000 employees over the next three to five years, although no final decisions have been reached as talks are still at an early stage.
The discussions on job cuts began prior to the recent Iran conflict. Elhedery, who assumed the CEO role in 2024, has already overseen the elimination of numerous positions at the bank. Last year, HSBC achieved £890 million in cost savings after downsizing its senior management team.
Initially aiming for £1.1 billion in annual cost reductions by the end of 2026, HSBC now anticipates reaching this goal by June, six months ahead of schedule. Elhedery noted that a significant portion of the savings stemmed from job deduplication, particularly in senior roles, resulting in a 15% decrease in managing director positions. Additionally, HSBC distributed bonuses totaling £2.9 billion to eligible staff in 2025, a 10% increase from the previous year.
Elhedery received a total compensation package of £6.6 million in 2025, inclusive of salary, benefits, an annual bonus, and a long-term incentive award. The bank’s pay committee plans to grant him a maximum long-term incentive award worth £9 million for the period 2026-2028, subject to the bank’s performance and distributed in installments. In 2025, HSBC reported a 7% decline in pre-tax profit to £22.1 billion, attributing this to losses related to its Chinese Bank of Communications stake and restructuring expenses from its simplification program.