Upset as HSBC's cuts include a woman on maternity leave & her replacement

When is it acceptable to cut a woman who's on maternity leave in the UK? Maybe when the entire business is being closed as part of a major restructuring plan.

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HSBC isn't commenting, but Global Capital is reporting that HSBC cut Farnam Bidgoli, its head of global ESG Solutions, while she was on maternity leave. Gayle Muirs, who was standing in for Bidgoli, is understood to have gone too. 

Muirs didn't respond to a request to comment, but an email sent to her address bounced back and said she'd left the bank.

In the UK, individuals are initially put 'at risk' while employers look for alternative roles for them internally. It's thought that both Bidgoli and Muirs are in this period, which ends next week. 

The cuts are part of HSBC's closure of its equity capital markets and M&A businesses outside of APAC and the Middle East. However, they follow questions about HSBC's commitment to ESG after its head of sustainability, Celine Herweijer, was ejected from the board last year. 

Sources at the bank said other members of the broader ESG team remain. They include Patrick Kondarjian, the global head of sustainability and ESG, who sits within the markets team which is immune to the cuts.

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