HSBC job cuts: CEO shares big update on lay offs possibility, message for employees on AI issue

HSBC CEO said artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy certain jobs and create new jobs as bank focuses on staff retraining. The CEO said it is important to have staff be on the :"AI journey with us, not fighting us, not resisting the change". HSBC Chief Executive ​Georges Elhedery ​said on Wednesday AI would destroy and ‌create ⁠certain ⁠jobs ​in the financial industry, ​as the bank was focussed ​on retraining ⁠its workforce. Elhedery ‌told ​a ​HSBC ⁠investor day event that ​staff needed to embrace ​AI-driven change rather than resist it ‌and work with the bank ​on ​navigating ⁠the new technology.

Meanwhile, HSBC Holdings has raised ​A$1.4 billion ($1 billion) from a three-part Australian dollar bond sale on Tuesday after investors placed more than A$4.35 billion in ‌orders, according ⁠to ⁠latest term sheet and note reviewed by Reuters.

HSBC priced A$550 ​million of six-year non-call five floating-rate notes, A$450 million of ​six-year non-call five fixed-to-floating-rate notes and A$400 million of 11-year non-call 10 fixed-to-floating-rate notes, according to a latest sheet


Orders ​topped A$1.715 billion for the ⁠six-year floating-rate notes, ‌A$1.355 billion for the six-year fixed-to-floating-rate ​notes and ​A$1.285 billion for the 11-year fixed-to ⁠floating-rate notes, according to note before the pricing

The six-year ​floating-rate notes priced at 125 basis points ​over the three-month bank bill swap rate or BBSW. The six-year fixed-to-floating-rate notes priced at 125 basis points over semi-quarterly asset swaps and carry a 5.996% coupon.

The 11-year fixed-to-floating-rate notes priced ‌at 162 basis points over semi-quarterly asset swaps and carry a 6.597% coupon. HSBC plans ​to ​use the proceeds ⁠for general corporate purposes

The notes are expected to be rated A3 by Moody's, A- by S&P and A+ by ​Fitch. ANZ, CBA, HSBC, Mizuho , NAB and Westpac are joint lead managers.

HSBC recently launched a dedicated $4 billion credit facility to support the global expansion of mainland Chinese companies involved in sustainable and transition technologies ‌including clean ⁠power, data centres, ⁠electric vehicles and AI.

China, already the world's largest exporter of solar ​and battery technology, is leading the world in deployment of many green technologies ​as part of efforts to cut emissions, and has made a strategic push to grow markets and influence globally.

HSBC's move ​to create the Sustainability and Transition Credit Facility ⁠comes as ‌the Iran war drives further demand ​for renewable energy ​such as wind and solar power that in ⁠many cases is cheaper than fossil fuels.

Global electric vehicle ​sales are set to pass 26 million ​in 2026, HSBC research shows, while electricity use from data centres could nearly double by 2030 to 945 terawatt hours, the International Energy Agency has estimated.

As part of the new facility, HSBC said in a statement that it would extend credit ‌terms, streamline credit approvals and develop tailored solutions for eligible companies.