Today could be the last day at HSBC for some investment bankers at Europe’s largest lender. Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery is wielding the knife again, starting his latest round of headcount cuts in Asia, according to people familiar with the matter. Layoffs are expected to begin next week and could last up to several months.

Some cuts are already under way, but wider layoffs will begin as early as Feb 17, sources said. Read more at straitstimes.com.

HSBC announced two weeks ago that it would quit M&A advisory and equity capital market activities in the UK, the rest of Europe and the Americas as part of a major retrenchment in its investment bank

The redundancies will be staggered over several weeks and months, based on performance and to streamline operations.

The latest phase of cuts will start in Asia, but will ultimately affect employees globally, according to sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.