The IT industry in Hong Kong may have to absorb some professionals from the banking sector in the near future.

The leading local bank HSBC has just announced a voluntary redundancy package for its IT team, targeting 120 staff including junior to middle-management staff.

This voluntary redundancy package is offered to staff having achieved a performance score of 4 to 5 (in a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 denoting the best performance). It is reported that those who score 3 are also on the list. So, at least 1,000 staff are invited to join this redundancy scheme, accounting for more than 5% of the manpower of HSBC's IT team.

Some recruitment consultants comment that the job market in Hong Kong is able to absorb these IT professionals working in banks. Yet, salaries in banking are higher compared with the IT industry. These professionals may need to adjust their salaries to a lower level in order to secure a job. In addition, they may have to shift to networking security and multimedia development which have a high demand for talents. To remain competitive, they also have to upgrade themselves since technologies used in banks are different from those on the market.