Crisis sees HSBC shed jobs in UK

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, is to eliminate about 500 jobs in the United Kingdom, including positions at its head office in London, two people familiar with the plan said.

The reductions include clerical and computer-services jobs, said one of the people who declined to be identified. An announcement may come as early as next week, said two of the people. The company employs about 60,000 people in UK and 335,000 worldwide, Bloomberg News reported.

HSBC, which hasn't needed UK government assistance to boost its capital, cut 500 jobs in Asia this month, citing deteriorating economic conditions. It also fired 1,100 workers in its global banking and market division in September, against the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Job losses in the financial services industry may double to 350,000 worldwide by mid-2009, according to an estimate from search firm CTPartners.

"The UK is a successful business. The environment in which we operate changes constantly and HSBC changes to match our customers," said a spokesman for the bank.