HSBC is set to announce huge job cuts after confirming huge dip in profits. The bank's annual statement revealed a 33% fall in pre-tax profit for 2019 prompting to sack 35,000 employees. The profits plummeted to £10.2 billion, the new figures show, which is well below expectations. The company is expected to shed more than £70bn of assets.HSBC blamed the slump on a "goodwill impairment" of £5.6 billion."This arose from an update to long-term economic growth assumptions, which impacted a number of our businesses," HSBC's annual results statement said. Interim chief executive Noel Quinn said, Sky News reports, that thousands of jobs will be shed in the next three years.
Continuing further he said, the totality of this program is that our headcount is likely to go from 2,35,000 to closer to 200,000 over the next three years. The bank has its headquarters in London but almost half of its revenue and nearly 90% of its profits in 2018 came from Asia, with much of that coming from Hong Kong. The bank also said that it will continue to monitor the recent coronavirus outbreak which has caused economic disruption in Hong Kong. The HSBC statement also addressed Brexit, saying that: "Now that the UK has officially left the EU, negotiations can begin on their future relationship."This has provided some certainty, but no trade negotiation is ever straightforward. It is essential that the eventual agreement protects and fosters the many benefits that financial services provide to both the UK and the EU."HSBC in August announced 4, 700 job cuts from its then workforce of 2,38,000.