Financial Services firm HSBC has announced that it is reducing its office space by about 40 percent, “as part of sweeping cost cutting designed to capitalise on new part-office-part-homeworking arrangements after the pandemic,” according to The Guardian.
The decision to move to new hybrid working arrangements was announced as HSBC confirmed it was accelerating its pivot towards Asia, including China and Hong Kong, despite concerns about the political crackdown in the former British colony.
Executives said on Tuesday that the success of remote working meant the bank could cut down on business travel and reduce its office footprint by nearly 40% over the next few years.
That news comes as rival firm Lloyds Banking Group has also announced plans to save costs by taking advantage of the work from home dynamic. The company plans to reduce its footprint by 20 percent within the next five years.
The moves are consistent with CoreNet Global’s most recent COVID tracking survey, which found that Two years from now, 36 percent of the respondents project that their company’s overall real estate footprint will shrink by between 10 and 30 percent.