Swire layoffs: British conglomerate, Swire Group, is set to cut nearly 10% of its employee jobs at the company’s Hong Kong office as the firm aims to streamline its operations amid China’s economic slowdown, reported the news agency Bloomberg, citing people aware of the development on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.

The conglomerate reportedly made a job cut last week, which impacted 40 employees who were working in the company’s sustainable development, finance and risk management departments, people aware of the development told the news agency.

They also reportedly said that a few department leaders, including group head of sustainability Mark Harper, have been laid off from the company amid the job cut move.

Swire Group told the news agency that the company is revamping its office structure to improve its overall efficiency and streamline some of its processes; however, Mark Harper did not respond to queries sent by the news agency on the development.

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

China economic slowdown

Swire Group is facing pressure from the economic slowdown and property slump in mainland China. This has fueled employee speculation that management aims to cut costs in order to boost efficiency through artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

According to the agency report, the Swire Group is heavily reliant on Hong Kong and mainland China as the company’s flagship arm, Swire Pacific, gained 79% of its revenues from the markets. The company also holds 91% of its non-current assets in Hong Kong in the Chinese market.

This reliance on China’s economy has reportedly weakened the company’s exposure to uncertainty, along with the US–China trade tensions. The company’s revenues, the biggest profit generator, have been impacted by the Chinese real estate market slowdown.

According to the agency report, Swire Pacific’s net profits dropped 71% in the previous year and slid 2% in the first half of 2025.

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