Swire layoffs: British giant to cut nearly 10% workforce in Hong Kong amid China’s economic slowdown

British holding company Swire Group is preparing to lay off around 10% of its employees in the company’s Hong Kong office as the company aims to streamline its operations amid the economic slowdown in China, the news agency reported. Bloomberg, People aware of the development were cited on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.

According to the information given to the news agency by people aware of the development, it was reported that the holding made a layoff last week and this affected 40 employees working in the company’s sustainable development, finance and risk management departments.

It was also reported that several department leaders, including sustainability group head Mark Harper, said they had been removed from the company due to the layoff decision.

Swire Group told the news agency that the company has renovated its office structure to improve its overall efficiency and streamline some of its processes; However, Mark Harper did not respond to the news agency’s questions about the development.

According to the company’s official website, the group employs more than 121,000 people worldwide and employs more than 500 people in its head office in Hong Kong.

Chinese economic slowdown

Swire Group is facing pressure from the economic slowdown and real estate decline in mainland China. This has increased employees’ speculation that management is aiming to cut costs to increase efficiency through artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Swire Group is heavily dependent on Hong Kong and mainland China, with the company’s flagship arm Swire Pacific generating 79% of its revenues from the markets, according to the agency report. The company also holds 91% of its fixed assets in the Chinese market in Hong Kong.

This confidence in the Chinese economy, along with US-China trade tensions, has reportedly weakened the company’s sensitivity to uncertainty. The company’s revenues, its biggest source of profit, have been affected by the slowdown in the Chinese real estate market.

According to the agency report, Swire Pacific’s net profit fell 71% compared to the previous year and fell 2% in the first half of 2025.

Swire Pacific Class A shares closed flat at HK$67.50 after Wednesday’s stock market session, compared to HK$67.55 at the previous market close. The market value of the company was 86.21 billion Hong Kong dollars as of the stock market close on Wednesday, October 26, 2025.