HSBC staff fear offshoring plan will mean more job losses

Fears that banking giant HSBC will offshore more UK jobs to Asia have been raised after its chief operating officer revealed plans to double the bank's back-office workforce abroad.

Alan Jebson told reporters in Asia that he had a target to save more than $1bn (£518m) between now and December 2007, and was speeding up the move to offshore, reports The Guardian.

The bank has already announced 4,500 job cuts by 2006 as a result of offshoring, with half of these already achieved.

Finance union Amicus, which represents HSBC staff, has expressed concern at the announcement.

HSBC currently has 13,000 employees in 10 locations around Asia, but a company spokesperson said that the remarks should not be interpreted to mean that further UK jobs were about to be offshored.