Another 1,350 jobs were cut or threatened with the axe today as HSBC, Aston Martin and Halfords responded to the economic downturn.

Union officials expressed anger and dismay at the announcement so close to Christmas.

HSBC said it will reduce its UK workforce by around 500 following a review of the business and “current economic conditions.”

Managing director Paul Thurston said: “As you would expect of any successful organisation, we continually review our business to ensure it is operating efficiently.

“The environment in which we operate changes constantly and HSBC has a duty to our customers, shareholders and staff to ensure that our organisation reflects and reacts to these changes.

“We deeply regret taking this step, but we consider it essential to ensure our business is operating as efficiently as possible and that we are best placed to deal with the economic downturn and maintain our levels of customer service.”

HSBC said no retail customer-facing staff in branches or call centres would be affected. The biggest impact is expected at the London head office, Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield and Chester.

Unite’s joint leader Derek Simpson said: “Unite is appalled that this news has been delivered so close to Christmas.

“The union has seen no business rationale for these job losses. As far as we can see, HSBC is simply using the economic downturn as an excuse to make job losses.”

Unite said the bank had reported an increase in half-yearly profits recently and continued to do “very well”.

Credit Suisse is to cut around 650 UK jobs, the investment bank confirmed on Monday night. The cut represents about 10 per cent of the company’s UK workforce and comes as a further blow to the financial services sector.

Aston Martin said it was planning to axe up to 600 full-time and temporary jobs because of the downturn in the world economy, hitting the company’s factory at Gaydon in Warwickshire.

The announcement, following a dip in sales, was described by the Unite union as “devastating news” for workers.

A statement from Aston Martin said: “It is hoped to do this by minimising the impact on employees as far as possible, but the possibility of up to 300 permanent and a similar number of temporary job losses cannot be ruled out.”

Chief executive Dr Ulrich Bez said: “These are regrettable but necessary measures in the extraordinary market conditions we all now face.

Unite’s national officer Dave Osborne said: “This is devastating news for our members who have made major contributions to

the Aston Martin brand. They now face a bleak Christmas.

“Unite will be working to maximise voluntary redundancies and we will vigorously oppose compulsory job cuts.”

Aston Martin sold 110 cars in the UK in October compared with 164 in the same month last year. Sales last year were 7,300 but are expected to be 6,500 this year.

Car accessory retailer Halfords also said it would shed around 250 jobs. The specialist chain said approximately 200 posts would be cut across its network of more than 450 stores, along with 50 more at its head office in Redditch, Worcestershire.

Halfords, which sells more than 10,000 different product lines, ranging from car parts and cycles to outdoor leisure and camping equipment, said the decision followed a review of its operations carried out in recent weeks.

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