LONDON, March 25 (UPI) -- British bank HSBC said it would lay off 1,200 employees in Britain and close two business centers to adjust to the economic downturn.
The job losses come on the backs of 1,600 HSBC jobs cut in 2008, The Times of London reported Wednesday.
The bank's managing director Paul Thurston said, "There are difficult decisions that have to be made as we adapt to a new environment, and ensure we are positioned for the future."
"We deeply regret that these have led to the announcement of redundancies and, as you would expect, we will do everything we can to help and support those of our colleagues who are affected," he said.
The bank said it would close business centers in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England, and in Newport, Wales, losing 280 and 90 positions, respectively.
As demand for financial services slump, "these are people who are processing application forms, processing the purchase of investments," a bank spokesman said.
The spokesman said lost jobs are concentrated in finance, human resources and information technology, but no front line retail staff positions were scheduled for cuts.
