Several employees of the investment banking unit of HSBC Holdings may face a salary cut by as much as 10%. They have also been reported to have told to take two weeks of unpaid leave. According to news reports, the move applies to contract workers in the global banking and markets division and there will be no exceptions. Financial analysts and IT staff would be among those affected. HSBC’s CEO Stuart Gulliver is trimming costs to shore up profitability and the bank has unveiled a three-year plan in June to reduce businesses to lower headcount by 50,000 and cut annual costs by as much as $5 billion.
