HSBC staff protest over 1,000 redundancies expected in Hong Kong

HSBC staff protest over 1,000 redundancies expected in Hong KongHong Kong  - Unions representing bank workers in Hong Kong were Monday planning protest action over mass job cuts that they believe could see 1,000 employees in the city fired.

Union representatives say they have information suggesting that around 1,000 of the 18,000 people employed by HSBC in Hong Kong will lose their jobs as early as this week.

The Hong Kong Banking Employees Association and other employee unions were Monday planning protest actions against the anticipated job cuts, which HSBC officials have so far refused to confirm or deny.

HSBC cut 550 jobs in Hong Kong in September and November last year as the economic slump began to take its toll on the global banking giant.

Unions say they have learnt that bank workers across all departments are being selected for dismissal based upon their performance appraisals. They claim bonuses for remaining staff will be slashed to cut costs.

Hong Kong has been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn. The city of 6.9 million officially went into recession in November and its jobless rate has climbed above 4 per cent. (dpa)

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