HSBC targets back office workers in 2,000 UK job cuts HSBC will on Thursday inform UK-based staff of the cuts, which come as Britain's biggest bank attempts to reduce its global workforce by 30,000 by the end of next year to help boost profits and adapt its business to new industry regulations. Staff working as in-branch investment advisers and back office administrators will be the main victims of the jobs cull, according to a source with knowledge of the plans. The cuts to investment advisers is part of HSBC's reaction to the retail distribution review (RDR), which puts in place in much stricter rules on the sale of financial products to consumers, diminishing the role of branch advisory staff. Barclays has already started a similar cut back of advisory staff because of the RDR, getting rid of all in-branch investment advisers. HSBC employs about 52,000 in Britain and the 2,000 cuts will affect less than 5pc of its workforce in the UK. Overall, HSBC plans to cut 30,000 from its global workforce of 300,000 by the end of 2013. Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, said last year the bank would look to cut costs by about $3.5bn (£2.2bn). The lender is introducing new IT systems across its businesses that will improve the efficiency of its operations and allow it to cut staff numbers. Last year, HSBC cut about 7,000 staff across the world. The bank has also sold off several of its international businesses, including Russia.