Banking giant HSBC is laying off 357 employees from its Brandon offices in early June.

HSBC notified state officials of the cuts in a WARN letter to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity dated March 30. The letter said the affected positions will likely not be refilled. It indicated the branch will remain open despite the staff reduction.

Rob Sherman, a spokesperson for HSBC, said the layoffs are part of a "strategic wind down" for HSBC Finance Corp. as it sells off its loan portfolio this year. The finance unit is separate from HSBC Bank USA.

"We are reducing the size of our workforce in step with declining activity," Sherman said in a statement.

The remaining 270 employees in Brandon will continue to handle what is left of HSBC Finance Corporation's mortgages.

Employees, Sherman said, will be notified at least 60 days before the layoffs begin. Among the most-affected positions are 158 consumer and mortgage lending support staff, 44 collection specialists and 23 analysts.

Brandon employees aren't the only ones affected. The company announced similar cuts for around 150 employees in the Chicago area last week.

HSBC has been on a downward slope financially for about five years. In February, its parent company reported a $3.4 billion profit loss before taxes for 2016's fourth quarter. A month before that announcement, HSBC eliminated 100 senior banking positions globally. It also plans to shutter 62 banking branches in 2017, which will cut 180 jobs.

Contact Malena Carollo at mcarollo@tampabay.com. Follow @malenacarollo.