HSBC plans job cuts in UK wealth business

BENGALURU: HSBC is planning sweeping job cuts across its UK wealth management business as part of a push to expand its use of AI, the Financial Times reported yesterday.

The bank plans to cut about half of management and specialist roles, while reductions in financial adviser roles could reach around 70 per cent, the report said, citing people familiar with the plans.

HSBC does not disclose the number of employees in its UK wealth business, though the FT reported that it has hundreds of relationship managers across the country.

The bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

"We're continuing to evolve to deliver more digitally enabled products and journeys to support our best-in-class wealth service and meet the changing needs of our customers," the bank said in a statement to the FT.

The bank is currently consulting employees on the proposed changes, the report said, adding that affected employees are expected to leave by the end of the month.

In May, chief executive Georges Elhedery said at an HSBC investor day event that staff needed to embrace AI-driven change rather than resist it and that "generative AI will destroy certain jobs".

Elhedery has made AI a central part of his strategy since taking over in 2024.