HSBC has decided to resume its initial plans to axe 35,000 jobs that it had postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is now sinking its profits.

The lender has also decided to maintain an external hiring freeze, Reuters reported citing a memo sent to its 235,000 employees worldwide.

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In the memo, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said: “We could not pause the job losses indefinitely – it was always a question of ‘not if, but when’.”

The redundancies are part of HSBC’s wider restructuring strategy to slash $4.5bn in costs, the report added.

In March, the bank decided to postpone the job cuts as it did not want to push staff out amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the fall in profits forced HSBC to not only resume the job cuts again but also to look for ways to cut more costs through 2020.

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According to Reuters, most job cuts will affect HSBC’s investment banking and trading staff in the back office at Global Banking and Markets (GBM).

The bank will also lay off support staff around the world and senior bankers working in GBM and HSBC’s UK headquarters.

This retrenchment plan is separate from the natural attrition of up to 25,000 positions the bank expects each year.

In addition, the bank said that the plan will not affect the dividends payable in the future.

This will be subject to the economic outlook next year along with the receipt of regulatory approval.

HSBC shares plunged 27% since March. The bank also set aside $3bn in bad loan provisions related to the pandemic in its first-quarter results.