The Livingston Member of Parliament has joined local and national trade union organisers in launching a campaign to challenge the global bank’s decision and force it to reconsider the branch’s closure.     

Jim Devine said: “This is a major banking firm which made over £12bn profit last year. HSBC also receives substantial grants from Scottish Enterprise. Therefore, to tell my constituents their jobs will be transferred to Malaysia is an insult to the workers' professionalism and commitment.”

“This decision is not about the so-called credit crunch, but is about a multi-national company exploiting Britain's inferior labour-relations legislation.” Devine said.

In 2006 HSBC was awarded a £1m grant in order to invest in Scotland. The bank is one of the largest banking and financial services organisation’s in the world, operating from over 10,000 offices in 83 countries.

Graham Goddard, Deputy General Secretary of the trade union Unite said: “HSBC promote themselves as the ‘world’s local bank’, but the decision to abandon their workforce in Livingston is a betrayal of this principle.”