PARIS (Reuters) -HSBC ( HSBC ) plans to cut 348 jobs in France through a voluntary redundancy scheme, amounting to about 10% of its workforce in the country, the bank said on Wednesday.

The job losses are part of a cost-cutting drive led by CEO Georges Elhedery, who aims to reduce expenses by $1.8 billion by the end of 2026.

HSBC ( HSBC ) has already sold its retail and insurance divisions in France as part of a retreat from slow-growing European and North American markets where the bank has struggled against larger domestic players.

"These developments in France reflect the acceleration of the implementation of HSBC's ( HSBC ) strategy aimed at simplifying the organisation to make it more agile ... adapting to an uncertain economic environment, growing competition and high internal costs," HSBC ( HSBC ) said.