HSBC, a British bank, plans to fire up to 10,000 employees as part of a cost-cutting program under which new interim chief executive Noel Quinn is seeking recognition. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing two informed sources.

The plan is one of the most ambitious attempts to reduce costs in years, sources say. According to them, the result will be a significant cut in HSBC staff, currently numbering 238,000 employees.

"We've known for years that we need to do something about our cost base, the largest component of which is people -- now we are finally grasping the nettle," the paper quoted an unnamed source as saying.

A source at the Financial Times hints that the cuts will affect Europe's contributors first. "There's some very hard modelling going on. We are asking why we have so many people in Europe when we've got double-digit returns in parts of Asia.”, the source said.

Earlier, the bank announced plans to cut 4,700 people because of the complicated situation caused by low interest rates, trade conflicts and uncertainty surrounding Brexit, BTA recalls.

According to the newspaper, these cuts are the first decisive step taken by Noel Quinn, who replaced CEO John Flint, who resigned in August.

HSBC employs a total of 237,685 people at the end of June 2019, Reuters reported.