HSBC bank will cut 348 jobs in France, representing 10% of its workforce in the country.

British bank HSBC will cut 348 jobs in France, representing 10% of its workforce in the country, it announced on Wednesday, May 14, confirming a report in the daily newspaper Les Échos . HSBC has just "presented a large-scale PSE (job protection plan, editor's note) to staff representatives, covering more than 10% of its workforce in France," the newspaper wrote, which a spokesperson for the bank confirmed to AFP.

In total, 348 positions are affected by this plan out of the "some 3,000 that the bank still has today. Support functions as well as commercial ones are affected," the article adds.

Georges Elhedery, a former financial director who became HSBC's CEO in September, began a reorganization of the international structure in October to "simplify" it, but also to separate its "eastern" and "western" markets, to focus on markets "which have a clear competitive advantage and the greatest growth opportunities." "HSBC remains fully committed to Europe," a source within the bank assured Les Echos. "We still want to be the international bank for our clients."

The banking giant added in February that the reorganization plan initiated by its new CEO should save $1.5 billion per year by the end of 2026. The banking group announced that it had achieved a net profit of $22.9 billion in 2024, an increase of 2%.

The British bank sold its retail banking operations in France in 2024 to My Money Group (MMG), controlled by the US investment firm Cerberus, which now operates the network under the name Crédit Commercial de France (CCF). Management announced in early December the departure of hundreds of employees and the closure of more than 80 branches (out of a total of 234 branches today).

HSBC will also sell its life insurance business in France to mutual insurer Matmut, following an agreement reached at the end of 2024.