AFP – The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) will shift its Asia headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore, in an letter announcement this week to staff.
The United States (US) newspaper said its decision comes after other foreign firms have reconsidered their operations in Chinese financial hub Hong Kong.
WSJ Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said in a letter to staff that the shift would also involve an unspecified number of layoffs.
Announcing changes to the WSJ’s Asia operations, Tucker wrote,: “Some of these changes are structural. We are bringing together our business, finance and economics coverage. Some are geographic. We are shifting our centre of gravity in the region from Hong Kong to Singapore, as many of the companies we cover have done.”
On the staff changes, she added, “Consequently, some of our colleagues, mostly in Hong Kong, will be leaving us. It is difficult to say goodbye, and I want to thank them for the contributions they have made to the Journal.”
The union for WSJ employees International Association For Property and Evidence Inc said in a statement that it was “sorry to learn that eight reporters from the Hong Kong and Singapore offices have been laid off from the company”.
