It is expected that changes would have the biggest impact on non-client facing roles in global service centres, Bloomberg has reported.

However, the initial report says that HSBC is at the early stages of consultation and no final decisions have been made. Reporting suggests changes could be three to five years away, with potential for already departing staff to not be replaced, as well as cuts associated with business sales and exits.

CEO Georges Elhedery joined the business 18 months ago and is said to have carried out major overhaul programmes since his appointment, including reorganising divisions, selling and merging business units, and cutting some senior management roles.

Elhedery is also said to have driven a cultural change in the bank by increasing the competitive nature of work and pushing towards a ‘more Wall Street-style compensation model’, which rewards top performers with larger bonuses and pushes underperforming individuals out. 

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HSBC CFO, Pam Kaur, has spoken about the opportunities to use AI both to cut costs and increase employee productivity by incorporating AI into areas such as customer service centres, know-your-customer teams, and transaction monitoring. 

HSBC is not the only bank considering these substantial changes. A Bloomberg Intelligence report last year suggested that global banks could cut up to 200,000 jobs over the next few years as AI begins to take over routine tasks. 

The non-client facing roles that could be facing a cut at HSBS are the types of positions that are most at risk from automation, and similar to those which have been impacted in other large scale restructuring programmes. 

The Bank is yet to make a public comment on the matter.