1,050 Credit Card Workers to Lose Their Jobs

First American Express announces the layoff of 550 workers, and now HSBC Holdings is giving almost 500 employees pink slips too, as it closes down its credit card customer service and collections work at a center in New Castle, Delaware. HSBC expects all the layoffs to have taken place by midyear.

HSBC said the Delaware center will not close down completely, their insurance underwriting and insurance customer services operations will continue, leaving about 700 people still working at that facility. Why the cuts? "A range of factors, as part of ongoing efforts to balance customer service and business support needs with staffing levels across the U.S. credit card network," HSBC spokesman Rob Sherman told Reuters.

American Express says their layoffs from the credit card and travel services portion of the company are due to the fact that they are handling more customer business online.

Those unfortunate workers being laid off from HSBC began receiving notifications this week, but at least the company is giving them priority if they apply for other jobs at HSBC, according to Sherman.