HSBC announce 500 job cuts
In a move which has been labelled disgraceful by the unions, it has been revealed that HSBC is to axe 500 employees in the run-up and Christmas. The move had been widely expected in financial circles but the timing of the announcement has attracted much criticism from a number of parties. The unions believe there is no business reason for the job cuts but HSBC has highlighted the fragile nature of the UK market and a substantial reduction in transaction levels of late.
The worrying element is the fact that HSBC has been one of the better performing banks over the last few months and if they are struggling then the rest must surly be looking to cut jobs as well. The New Year could see tens of thousands of jobs at risk at the merged Lloyds TSB and HBOS group as well as other banking groups who will be looking to reduce their costs in due course.
While the timing may well be unfortunate for many, there is no escaping the fact that the UK economy has slowed substantially and business levels in the financial sector are a fraction of what they were 12 months ago.
Share this..
Related stories
Will Hershey's bid for Cadbury melt away?
There is new speculation regarding a potential offer for Cadbury by Hershey this morning with concerns that a potential offer may be starting to melt away. A review of the recent history of Hershey, which is controlled by a charitable trust, shows that the trustees of the charitable trust voted against a deal to sell the company to Wrigley back in 2002 for $89 a share. The current share price is $...
Read MoreIs a government backed infrastructure bank on the way?
There would appear to moves within the UK government to introduce a "government backed infrastructure bank" which will be used primarily to raise funds for projects in the public sector. A new Treasury specialist unit has been set up to look at the infrastructure in the UK and identify large-scale projects in the utilities, transport, waste and the telecom sectors. However, there is some dispute a...
Read MoreCould UK base rates remain unchanged until 2012?
As the threat of inflation begins to recede, with evidence that factory prices are turning downwards, many people are now looking towards UK base rates and the next increase. A number of economists believe that there is no chance of the base rate rise within 2010 and indeed a number are now looking towards 2012 and beyond before UK base rates will increase. So could UK base rates remain unchanged...
Read MoreDid Gordon Brown's appearance on TV go down well?
Gordon Brown's appearance on the Piers Morgan show yesterday evening certainly cast the "iron Chancellor" in a very different light although his in-depth interview has attracted very different opinions from UK taxpayers, businesses and politicians. One issue which keeps coming to the fore is the fact that Gordon Brown has never mentioned his family in public although last night, under intense scru...
Read MoreBritish manufacturing output increased in December
Amid all the doom and gloom surrounding the UK economy the Office for National Statistics today revealed a 0.9% increase in manufacturing output in December and an upwardly revised figure of 0.2% for November. These figures are way ahead of analyst expectations and would appear to show that the 0.1% increase in gross domestic product in the final quarter of 2009 could be revised higher. But can we...
Read More