HSBC initiates retail banking exit with 300 alleged job cuts

Business Report :

HSBC’s decision to shut down its retail banking operations in Bangladesh has uncertainty among its staff, with nearly 300 officers facing dismissal by March next year.

The global banking giant announced on July 30 in a press release that it would no longer accept new retail clients and would gradually close existing accounts by December.

While the bank insists the process will be “phased” over 6-8 months, employees say they were blindsided by the announcement and left without a clear plan for their future.

In a recent group morning e-mail, retail banking staff learnt that their unit was being dismantled. Later that day, HSBC Bangladesh’s management convened an internal town hall meeting, which several employees described as chaotic and distressing.

“They just said the business is closing-no details, no plan, no guidance-just a promise to tell us later,” said a distraught officer. The bank has since begun one-to-one sessions with staff, offering severance strictly under Bangladesh’s labour law.

Employees complain that the packages are far smaller than what HSBC has provided in other countries, or even in past retrenchments in Dhaka.

Contacted, the HSBC Bangladesh communications team on Wednesday refuted the allegations, calling them fabricated and baseless, saying no initiatives had taken place so far.
“In 2011-12, HSBC offered staff either redeployment in another unit or the equivalent of five years’ salary. In contrast, the current proposal amounts to little more than the legal minimum. They have destroyed our future,” an official alleged.

The disparity with neighboring Sri Lanka has fuelled resentment. When HSBC closed retail operations there last year, staffs were offered a generous package: four years’ salary plus three years of job security.
“This time Bangladeshis are being treated as second-class employees,” a senior HSBC banker remarked.

HSBC Bangladesh’s CEO, Mahbub-ur-Rahman declined to comment, referring all queries to the public relations department.

The bank said in a brief statement , “The process of closing retail banking will be completed in 6-8 months. We do not share details of employee compensation packages.”