HSBC has announced it will be shedding up to 3,500 jobs as part of a shake-up of the way it operates.

The bank which in Swindon has branches in Bridge Street and Regent Circus in the centre, Camdale Parade in Gorse Hill, and Marlborough Road in Old Town, as well as branches in Wootton Bassett, Marlborough and Malmesbury said it would be shedding a tier of management.

A spokeswoman said it was too early to say how Swindon and the surrounding area would be affected.

The changes will take place in the next 24 months. In branches, 800 administrative jobs will be removed, but 1,000 "customer-facing" staff will be taken on.

A statement released by HSBC yesterday said that redeployment and natural staff turnover would account for a significant part of the changes in branches, which are aimed at reducing bureaucracy and streamlining costs. However the bank workers' union UNIFI claimed call centres in Sheffield and Cardiff were in line to be closed with about 550 jobs exported to Asia.