BankAmerica is closing eight Hong Kong offices.

The San Francisco bank also said it will lay off 160 Hong Kong employees on Dec. 27 as part of a cost-cutting program. The cutback leaves BankAmerica with three offices and about 1,000 employees in its retail, wholesale and merchant banking units at its Hong Kong regional headquarters. The troubled bank previously announced that it would sell or close units around the globe that do not meet its strategic plan or profit goals.