HSBC ‘could cut 20,000 jobs’ as bank bets on AI to reduce costs

The layoffs would impact middle and back offices, with Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery said to be betting on AI to reduce costs

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HSBC could cut tens of thousands of jobs(Image: ilbusca via Getty Images)

The boss of HSBC is reported to be considering axing 20,000 roles over the next few years.

The layoffs would impact middle and back offices, with Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery said to be betting on AI to reduce costs. Some of the headcount reduction may also come through business sales or exits, according to Bloomberg.

The changes would impact around 10% of HSBC’s 210,000 workforce and could happen within the next three to five years. However, reports suggest talks are in the early stages and no final decisions have been made.

It is also claimed that discussions started before the Iran war kicked off. HSBC declined to comment when contacted by the Mirror. Mr Elhedery became CEO in 2024 and has already cut thousands of roles at the bank since taking the helm.

Last month, HSBC revealed it cut £890million worth of costs in 2025 after cutting back its senior management team.

The bank previously set a target to make £1.1 billion in annual cost reductions by the end of 2026, but it is now expecting to achieve this by the end of June – six months ahead of schedule.

Mr Elhedery said a large amount of the savings had come from the “deduplication” of jobs within the group, particularly more senior positions.

He said this resulted in a net 15% reduction of managing director positions. Meanwhile, HSBC revealed that it handed out bonuses worth £2.9 billion to its eligible staff during the year – a 10% increase compared with 2024.

The bank said it ensured its “highest performers had the strongest variable pay outcomes compared to the prior year”.

Mr Elhedery took home a pay packet of £6.6million in 2025, made up of his salary and benefits, plus an annual bonus and long-term incentive award of about £4.8million.

HSBC pay committee said it intends to grant the chief executive the maximum long-term incentive award worth 600% of his salary, which amounts to £9million, for 2026-28.

The value will be subject to the bank’s performance over the next three years, and delivered in instalments. HSBC reported lower earnings for 2025, with its pre-tax profit down about 7% year-on-year to £22.1 billion.

This took into account the impact of losses related to its stake in the Chinese Bank of Communications, and restructuring costs from its simplification programme.