Exclusive-Canada's RBC lays off some employees related to HSBC acquisition, sources say

Nivedita Balu

Fri, Mar 7, 2025, 8:36 AM 1 min read

By Nivedita Balu

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's largest lender Royal Bank of Canada laid disconnected immoderate employees arsenic a effect of changes astatine its concern segments pursuing the C$13.5 cardinal acquisition of HSBC's home concern past year, 2 sources with nonstop cognition of the layoffs told Reuters.Some of the layoffs were astatine the exertion and operations teams and began earlier this week, the sources said, requesting anonymity.

It was unclear however galore employees were impacted oregon if layoffs would continue.

Last summertime RBC separated its idiosyncratic and commercialized banking concern into 2 standalone segments and rejigged elder leadership, aft the HSBC Canada acquisition.

"With these changes, immoderate hard decisions person been made and arsenic a effect immoderate colleagues were impacted and near the bank," RBC's spokesperson said, adding that the slope has provided enactment and assistance to those affected.

"The changes we've made amended presumption RBC to instrumentality vantage of our planetary scale, simplify however we enactment and elevate the leaders and endowment who volition signifier our client-focused maturation opportunities."

The lender had 94,624 full-time employees by January 31, a 5% summation from a twelvemonth agone owed to the HSBC acquisition.

RBC boosted CEO Dave McKay's 2024 wage by 60% to C$24.5 cardinal ($17.14 million), including a C$4 cardinal bonus related to the HSBC Canada acquisition, the biggest woody successful RBC's history, according to a regulatory filing connected Thursday.

Some of the layoffs were astatine RBCx, the lender's tech and innovation banking limb that is portion of the tech and operations team, 1 root said.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu successful Toronto; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Chizu Nomiyama)