26 April 2012 Last updated at 08:30 ET

Up to 100 jobs to go at HSBC call centre in Swansea

HSBC said it would try to redeploy as many staff as possible in Swansea

Up to 100 jobs at a HSBC call centre in Swansea are being cut as part of global cost-cutting plans by the banking giant.

The company said more than 3,100 posts were being closed in the UK, but new roles were being created as well, which would result in 2,217 staff leaving.

HSBC said it would try to redeploy "as many of these staff as possible" who work on Swansea Enterprise Park.

A number of financial advisers in Wales are also being made redundant.

But the bank said it did not have a breakdown of how many advisers would lose their jobs.

The Swansea call centre resolves customer queries and helps to find the right financial products and services for customers of HSBC Direct.

'Difficult decision'

All HSBC staff in Wales are being briefed on Thursday about the restructuring, but none of the country's branches would close as a result of the announcement, the firm said.

Making the announcement about its business in the UK, Brian Robertson, chief executive of HSBC Bank Plc, said: "We have taken the difficult decision to restructure HSBC in the UK in order to reduce layers of management and bureaucracy.

"These changes will enhance our efficiency as detailed in the strategy we announced last May and they will also help ensure our continued profitability in the face of the changing regulatory landscape."

Reacting to the news, the Unite union said it was outraged and would campaign against the cuts.

"There is no justification for this awful treatment of staff," said Unite national officer David Fleming, pointing out that the bank made a £13.8bn profit worldwide last year.