HSBC has laid off 150 employees supporting global operations from back offices in India as it realigns operations globally. The majority of the lay-offs have happened in its Pune and Hyderabad offices, at the mid-management level.

The lender employs 2.38 lakh people globally and till recently, had about 14,000 employees across its technology function in Pune and Hyderabad which are otherwise called ‘global capability centers.’ This is about one-third of the lender’s global technology workforce.

The layouts come in the same month as the exit of the company's group CEO John Flint also stepped down earlier this month after being at the helm for 18 months. According to the reports, the bank’s board of directors had become increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of change at HSBC since Flint took the top job in February 2018.

A bank spokesperson told the media, “HSBC is continually reviewing the shape of its workforce to ensure it can best serve its customers and other stakeholders.” The job impacts are a result of a variety of concerns, including projects, individual performance and also redundancies, the sources said.

The move comes at a time when an economic slowdown in India is hitting demand for everything from automobiles to retail products, forcing companies to curtail production and recruitment and downsize their workforce. All eyes are on the Indian government meanwhile whether it will unveil an economic stimulus package to revive growth.