HSBC plans 70% cuts to UK wealth advisers

HSBC is consulting on plans to cut nearly 70 percent of financial adviser roles and about half of management and specialist positions in its UK wealth management division, according to a Financial Times report citing people familiar with the matter. Affected employees are expected to leave by the end of October. One person quoted in the FT described the proposed reductions as "deep, wide and brutal." An HSBC spokesperson told the FT: "HSBC UK is a long-established, leading UK wealth manager and premium banking provider" and "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 cuts reverse a hiring initiative launched two years ago to expand UK wealth and private banking. CEO Georges Elhedery, in the role since September 2024, said at a May investor day that "generative AI will destroy certain jobs" and said in an August Bloomberg TV interview he would be "extremely happy" if employees became more productive through AI tools. HSBC shares fell 0.6 percent in Hong Kong after the report. A related FT story said the bank would unveil $1.5 billion of annual cost savings on Feb 19.