BERN: The Geneva-based private banking arm of HSBC bank has confirmed that will be axing 260 jobs over a period of two years. The job cuts have nothing to do with the Swiss Leaks revelations, according to a spokesperson.
The staffs were informed of the decision on Tuesday and a consultation process until mid-May has been initiated. Most of the cuts are expected to take place next year. The bank currently employs 1,200 staff in Geneva and a total of 1,350 in Switzerland.
“These measures, envisaged some time ago, are aimed at increasing efficiency,” said HSBC spokesman Michael Spiess. “They are not the result of recent information in the media.” According to an internal memo accessed by Geneva financial daily L’Agefi, the hardest hit will be back office employees. Of the 260 job cuts envisaged, around 210 of them are expected to be back office posts.
Employees were warned in 2013 that the adoption of a new banking platform could have an impact on their jobs. HSBC has adopted the Avaloq banking platform that is designed to improve efficiency and allow outsourcing of various tasks. Spies also stressed that the jobs cuts are in no way a step towards a sale of the Swiss branch or a precursor to a retreat from Geneva.
