A former HSBC employee based out of the company’s Hong Kong office sued the company, alleging that he was racially discriminated against and made redundant after raising concerns to the human resources (HR) department and senior leadership, reported the news agency Bloomberg on Monday, 21 July 2025.
The former employee, Robert Ngugi Tomkinson, worked as a senior business analyst at HSBC Global Services’ Hong Kong office. In the lawsuit, Tomkinson claimed that in September 2024, he faced “sustained and differential treatment” from his new manager.
According to the agency report, which cites the district court documents, Tomkinson raised concerns of racial discrimination in a formal internal complaint. The report also mentions that Tomkinson was the only employee of Black heritage amongst his peers in the company.
What did the company do?
After Tomkinson raised his concerns about racial discrimination, the company conducted an internal investigation, which was “partially upheld” on 11 February 2025.
The investigation did not find any discrimination, but it concluded that Tomkinson’s manager had acted inappropriately, including disclosing the former employee’s compensation to irrelevant parties, according to the agency report, citing the documents.
After the investigation, a ‘performance improvement plan (PIP)’ which was initiated against Tomkinson was not implemented and later cancelled. However, two days later, the company informed Tomkinson of his redundancy, which he claimed was a “retaliatory motive.”
Compensation
The former HSBC employee is seeking compensation from the company for any losses and punitive damages under Hong Kong’s Race Discrimination Ordinance laws, as per the agency report.
Tomkinson did not respond to any more agency queries, and the HSBC company representative said that it is not appropriate for the company to comment on the development before the courts, according to the agency report.
Tomkinson also claimed that he was excluded from meetings due to a ‘baseless’ PIP and suffered the loss of responsibilities. The agency report also highlighted that other employees in comparable roles and grades were not selected for redundancy in the same batch.
The agency also cited that the company is undergoing an overhaul. HSBC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Georges Elhedery, aims to increase efficiency and streamline the institutional lender’s operations.