Standard Chartered will kick off a fresh round of job cuts, joining rivals that have resumed reductions amid an economically crippling coronavirus pandemic.
The London-headquartered lender will cut several hundred jobs globally, according to a «Bloomberg» report citing unnamed sources without additional details.
«A small number of roles are being made redundant in line with our commitment to transforming the bank and ensuring its future competitiveness,» according to a statement from the bank which houses around 85,000 employees.
Worker Interest
In March, many top players in the industry made a concerted move to pause job cuts to support households which have been undoubtedly feeling the strains from the pandemic.
Standard Chartered said it also did not «intend to make any layoffs because of the pandemic» and that workers who have lost their jobs will be paid until the end of the year in addition to a severance payment.
«[The recent round of job cuts] is not the result of any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic,» the bank added.
Industry-Wide Resumption
Standard Chartered is not alone in accelerating cost-cutting efforts following an industry-wide pause in March.
Deutsche Bank was the first major bank to restart after abruptly ended a hiatus on staff dismissals in May to resume plans to ax 18,000 jobs or 20 percent of its workforce. Also in May, British rival HSBC not only resumed its overhaul, which originally included plans to slash 35,000 job, but also deepened cuts due to increasing market and economic headwinds.
