Thousands of staff at HSBC have been told their jobs have been ‘demised’.
Britain’s most profitable bank came up with the bizarre jargon to describe its latest round of redundancies which involve more than 3,000 employees.
It triggered a furious reaction last night from unions which branded it ‘demeaning’.
HSBC HQ in Canary Wharf, London. The bank has announced job cuts, sparking outrage and strike threats from Unite the union, which claimed staff were suffering for profits
HSBC made a profit of £13billion last year, down six per cent on 2011
The bank said it was creating 2,017 new positions and it was expected that the majority would be filled by the affected staff. However, at least 1,149 staff will be left out of work.
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The bulk of those affected will be frontline staff who deal with customers, with HSBC announcing it was ‘demising’ 942 ‘relationship managers who do not give financial advice’.
THE ETYMOLOGY OF 'DEMISED'
Noun (singular): A person’s death or the end of an institution
Noun (mass): Transfer of property or title by will or lease
Verb (with object): Grant an estate by will or lease
Adjective: Transmit a sovereign’s title by death or abdication
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
These branch staff are the first point of call for ‘premier customers’ who have more than £50,000 of savings and investments with the bank. They fix appointments with financial advisers and help customers with basic transactions or setting up a meeting. They will be replaced by qualified financial advisers.
HSBC said it was also getting rid of up to 178 advisers for small businesses. It added: ‘This integration of advisers means the roles of commercial advisers will be demised.’
Companies have become notorious for using corporate jargon to put a gloss on redundancies. ‘Downsizing’ is a favourite term deployed by firms cutting back on staff, with Barclays finance chief Chris Lucas in February using the term ‘rightsizing’ to describe plans to slash 3,700 jobs.
Brian Robertson, the boss of HSBC’s retail bank, also came under fire for downplaying the impact of the cuts by telling staff he understood ‘change is always unsettling’.
Unite national officer Dominic Hook branded the bank a 'disgrace' and said the bank is trying to slash pensions, holidays and sick pay as well
ASDA ANNOUNCES 12 NEW STORES
The retailer said it was investing £700 million in its outlets and online operations, as it also announced a 4.5% increase in total sales in 2012.
Despite the new store openings, Asda said it was shifting its focus away from its 'bricks and mortar' stores towards 'multi-channel' sales including click-and-collect services.
Chief executive Andy Clarke said: 'I'm proud that in the continuing and very challenging trading environment we were able to increase total sales by 4.5% last year.
'This shows that we are continuing to get it right for customers.'
It comes a week after Tesco announced it was scrapping more than 100 major store developments as it admitted future growth would be focused more online.
Unite national officer Dominic Hook said: ‘This jargon is demeaning to HSBC staff who are at the end of their tether with cuts to sick pay, holidays and pensions. These cuts are about putting profits before people.’
HSBC posted profits of £13.7billion last year and dished out pay packages worth more than £1million to 204 staff – despite paying a £1.2billion fine to US authorities for sloppy anti money laundering controls.
The latest announcement marks another blow for HSBC staff, who already face cuts to their holiday entitlements and the closure of the lender’s final salary pension scheme.
But high street lenders have been forced to shake up their financial advice arms following a crackdown from regulators.
In a bid to stamp out mis-selling, firms’ financial advisers have been banned from taking commission to sell pensions and investments. Instead they have to charge fees to customers and pass tougher exams to give advice.
HSBC slashed 500 financial advisers last year as it became unprofitable to sell investments to ordinary customers who are not prepared to pay fees up front for advice.