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IT staff hit by 1,150 job cuts at HSBC, Credit Suisse
The efficiency axe

By Nick Heath

Published: Tuesday 02 December 2008

IT workers will be among 1,150 staff to lose their jobs at financial giants HSBC and Credit Suisse.

Most of HSBC's cuts will take place at the bank's London headquarters in Canary Wharf but regional centres such as Birmingham and Leeds are also expected to see losses.

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The jobs will be axed within two to three months, with the cuts coming on back of HSBC's decision to pull out of the corporate healthcare brokerage business.

A spokesman for HSBC said: "There will be IT jobs affected. It is part of a broad review of the entire UK business unit looking at three key areas of head office personnel, financial services and commercial banking.

"The key objective is to reduce duplication and create efficiencies."

The spokesman added that it is not possible to confirm exactly where the job cuts would fall until a consultation with staff had taken place.

Credit Suisse is also to axe 650 jobs in the UK, including IT staff, because of "market conditions".

In a statement the Swiss investment bank said the cuts would help it reach "projected staffing levels required to meet client needs".