HSBC cut more of its workforce yesterday with the announcement that it was making 1,100 investment banking staff redundant, including 500 in Britain.

Britain’s biggest bank said that the cuts were necessary because of difficult conditions and the poor economic outlook. The dismissals are thought to include highly paid investment bankers as well as back-office and administrative staff in London. Europe and the United States took the rest of the cuts.

The redundancy programme is in the global banking and markets division, which serves large global companies and investment clients. It has no effect on its high street operations.

Britain’s financial services industry is rethinking its employment needs dramatically in the face of the financial crisis. Bradford & Bingley cut 370 jobs on Thursday and tens of thousands more will go as a result of the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.

Thousands of Lehman Brothers staff in Britain are still not sure about their future, although the takeover of some of its operations by Nomura is expected to save a number of jobs.

An HSBC spokesman said: “It is regrettable and difficult for our people, but an exercise to reduce headcount [in the global banking and markets division] by 4 per cent is not a big story.”

HSBC was one of the first banks to be hit by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and has booked writedowns or losses of $18.7 billion (£10.1 billion) since the start of 2007. It also announced plans to combine the roles of chief operating officer and chief technology officer. David Hodgkinson is retiring, while Ken Harvey, 47, will take on the combined role of chief technology and services officer, reporting to Mike Geoghegan, the chief executive.

The bank said that the change was not the precursor to any significant job losses but there might be opportunities to rationalise some areas.

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