CLSA’s exit from the US equities market has triggered a string of legal complaints from sacked staff who say they were cheated out of their bonuses to pay for the Chinese brokerage’s failed strategy. 

CLSA, which is owned by state-backed Citic Securities, announced in February that it was pulling out of the US equities market with immediate effect because of challenging conditions. About 90 staff lost their jobs. 

In CLSA’s case, US staff were paid three months notice — a legal requirement in New York, where most of them were based. They were not paid their bonuses for 2016, because the job cuts were made days before the bonus cheques were due to be issued. Some staff were asked to sign release letters renouncing any further entitlements, a person familiar with the process said.