HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs over 3 years for company overhaul

British multinational investment bank HSBC announced Tuesday that it will cut 35,000 jobs over three years as its profit before tax dropped by a third in 2019.

With its most revenue made in Asia, the bank's reported profit before tax declined by 33 percent to US$13.3 billion in 2019.

The group will slash headcounts from 235,000 to closer to 200,000 over the next three years, losing about 15 percent of its global workforce, said HSBC interim Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn.

The announced job cuts exceeded analyst's expectation of 10,000. It is believed the massive job cuts, following the up to 4,700 job cuts announced last summer, are part of a major restructuring of the company as it plans to reduce costs by US$4.5 billion by 2022.

Though HSBC did not say where the job cuts will come from, analysts said its European and American investment banking business will be affected.

Employing more than 40,000 people in Britain, HSBC said the country's departure from the EU on January 31 has provided some certainty, but "no trade negotiation is ever straightforward", referring to post-Brexit trade talks between Britain and the EU.

"It is essential that the eventual agreement protects and fosters the many benefits that financial services provide to both the UK and the EU. At the same time as remaining close to Europe, the UK must also strengthen its links with other key partners, including the US, China and South East Asia," said HSBC Group Chairman Mark Tucker.