HSBC’s CEO is reportedly contemplating cutting 20,000 jobs in the coming years. The layoffs are expected to affect middle and back-office functions, with CEO Georges Elhedery looking to leverage AI to trim expenses. Some of the job cuts may also occur through business divestitures or exits, as per Bloomberg reports.
This restructuring is set to impact about 10% of HSBC’s workforce of 210,000 employees and could be implemented over the next three to five years. However, discussions are still in the early stages, and no final decisions have been reached yet.
The talks about job cuts began before the recent tensions in Iran. HSBC has refrained from commenting on the matter. Since taking the helm in 2024, Mr. Elhedery has already overseen the reduction of thousands of positions at the bank.
In a recent development, HSBC announced a cost reduction of £890 million in 2025 after streamlining its senior management team. The bank had initially aimed to achieve £1.1 billion in annual cost savings by the end of 2026 but is now on track to reach this goal by June, six months ahead of schedule.
Mr. Elhedery noted that a significant portion of the savings stemmed from job consolidation within the organization, particularly at higher levels. This led to a 15% net decrease in managing director roles. Additionally, HSBC disclosed that it distributed bonuses totaling £2.9 billion to eligible staff in 2025, marking a 10% increase compared to the previous year.
The bank emphasized that it rewarded its top performers with stronger variable pay outcomes compared to the prior year. Mr. Elhedery received a total compensation of £6.6 million in 2025, comprising salary, benefits, an annual bonus, and a long-term incentive award of approximately £4.8 million.
The HSBC pay committee has proposed granting the CEO the maximum long-term incentive award amounting to 600% of his salary, which equals £9 million, for the period of 2026-2028. The value of this award will depend on the bank’s performance over the next three years and will be disbursed in installments.
In its financial report for 2025, HSBC disclosed a 7% year-on-year decline in pre-tax profit to £22.1 billion. This decrease was attributed to losses related to its investment in the Chinese Bank of Communications and restructuring expenses linked to its simplification program.