HSBC is planning significant layoffs within its UK wealth management division, with a substantial reduction of financial advisers and other professional roles as part of a strategy to serve high-net-worth clients through artificial intelligence, according to people familiar with the matter.
One person said the bank will eliminate multiple positions in its UK wealth business, with roughly half of management and professional roles expected to be cut and financial adviser positions reduced by nearly 70%. Another person described the layoffs as "large in scale, broad in scope, and aggressive in approach," with nearly entire teams being let go. HSBC does not separately disclose the number of employees in its UK wealth business, but it is believed to have hundreds of client relationship managers across the country.
A person with knowledge of the bank's plans said the lender is in a "consultation period" regarding the proposed changes, and affected employees are expected to leave by the end of this month. HSBC stated: "HSBC UK is a long-established leading wealth manager and premium banking provider in the UK. We continuously iterate and upgrade, rolling out more digital products and service processes to underpin first-class wealth management services and meet our clients' evolving needs."
The layoffs come amid broader debate over whether the large-scale adoption of AI boosts the productivity of existing employees or enables companies to operate with significantly reduced headcount. The cuts also represent a reversal from the strategy two years ago, when HSBC aggressively hired and expanded its UK wealth and private banking operations, setting an ambitious goal of doubling assets under management to £100 billion by the end of the decade. At the end of last year, its assets under management stood at just over £62 billion.
The layoffs follow the departure of José Carvalho, who headed HSBC's UK wealth and personal banking business and announced his exit last month on LinkedIn after a three-year tenure. Since taking office in September 2024, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery has made artificial intelligence a core pillar of his strategy to simplify the bank's structure. He has also pledged to reduce headcount, streamline management layers, and eliminate overlapping senior roles.
In a report titled "Our Strategy — Built on Trust, AI-Powered Acceleration" released this summer, Elhedery specifically identified wealth management as one of the areas where AI can deliver the greatest impact. He wrote: "We empower relationship managers with AI to help them serve clients faster, while delivering more tailored client support to personalize the service experience."