HSBC has cut an estimated 80 jobs in its Hong Kong office this week, despite posting a US$5 billion profit in the city’s businesses for the first half of the year, Apple Daily has learnt.

Approximately 80 people were laid off from the bank on Tuesday and Wednesday, an employee from HSBC’s IT department told Apple Daily. The cuts were made across various departments, including IT, retail banking, private banking and insurance, the source said.

Middle and senior executives from the insurance department were among those who lost their jobs this week, the staffer said, adding that further cuts were expected in coming weeks. Another HSBC insider told Apple Daily that about 40 people had been laid off as of Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment on the alleged cuts, but share prices for the bank fell by 1% on Wednesday, closing at HK$32.7 (US$4.2).

In June, the London-based bank announced that it would resume a massive cost-cutting restructuring plan that would see 35,000 jobs eliminated over a three-year period.

In the first half of the year, the bank reported a US$5 billion pre-tax profit from its core Hong Kong business. The figure was higher than the US$4.3 billion profits generated globally.

HSBC Group Deputy Chairman Peter Wong said in February that the company’s restructuring plan would have a relatively small impact on employees in its Asia sectors.

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