HONG KONG – Banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC is cutting 1,100 jobs worldwide in the wake of the financial turmoil, a spokesman said Friday.
The London-based lender is laying off 4 percent of the global banking and market operations, with half of them taking place in the bank's operation in the United Kingdom, said spokesman Gareth Hewett in Hong Kong.
"We've taken the action because of the current market conditions, the economic environment and our cautious outlook of 2009," Hewett said by phone.
In Hong Kong, HSBC, which operates in Europe, Asia and the Americas, is laying off 100 staff.
Peter Wong, the banking group's executive director for Hong Kong and China, did not rule out the possibility of further layoffs.
"The financial environment is difficult now. It's nothing extraordinary that some staff have to leave our operations," Wong told broadcaster Cable TV. "I think this kind of action will continue to come in the financial sector."
Shares of HSBC were down 0.08 percent at 123.5 Hong Kong dollars at the midday close.
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