HSBC staff scramble to leave

HSBC has been inundated with applications for 600 voluntary redundancies that it announced as part of its first round of job cuts in ten years.

Insiders claim the High Street bank has been surprised by the number of candidates at junior and middle management level who have applied to leave.

One systems department, for example, had 400 applications for just 100 redundancies-But the bank has been unable to persuade enough senior managers to take up the offer, which means some compulsory redundancies are inevitable.

One bank worker said: 'The seniors are generally older, in their forties, and can take early retirement at 50, so this is not an attractive option for them.' Bill Dalton, chief executive-of HSBC's UK banking operation, last month unveiled plans to cut 1,400 jobs.

However, the majority will be lost as the bank fails to replace departing staff and only 600 involve redundancies.

The redundancy packages are described by staff as 'remarkably generous', and have played a role in the stampede to leave. It is understood that a banker with ten years' service could leave with 40 weeks' salary, while someone with 15 years' service could get a year's money, much of it tax-free.

A bank insider said: 'Most people think the bank is doing the right thing by cutting these jobs, and it is being generous about pay-offs.

'But the problem is that some people who geared themselves up to leave and had made plans to spend the money now find that they aren't going. Now they are having to gear up to stay.'

Some staff selected for redundancy were informed on July 31, while others will learn by the end of the month. They will leave the bank on November 30.

HSBC has organised counselling for those being made redundant and has recruited an outplacement service to help them find new jobs.