Bank Of America Considers Slashing Roughly 40,000 Jobs

Bank of America Corp officials have discussed slashing roughly 40,000 jobs during the first wave of a restructuring, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the plans.

The number of job cuts are not final and could change. The restructuring aims to reduce the bank's workforce of 280,000 over a period of years, the Journal said.

BofA could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

The Journal said BofA executives met Thursday at Charlotte, North Carolina, where the bank is headquartered, and will gather again Friday to make final decisions on the reductions, putting the finishing touches on five months of work.

Investors are pressing BofA to improve its performance after it lost money in four of the last six quarters and its stock has fallen by half this year.

The Journal said the proposed job cuts may exceed BofA's last big cutback in 2008 when it called for 30,000 to 35,000 job cuts over three years. That move was triggered by an economic slowdown and the planned takeover of securities firm Merrill Lynch & Co.

Earlier this month, the Charlotte Observer reported that BofA executives were discussing plans to potentially shed 25,000 to 30,000 jobs over the next several years.

BofA had earlier planned to cut 3,500 jobs, its Chief Executive Brian Moynihan had said in a memo to staff on August 18, as it tries to come to grips with $1 trillion of problem home mortgages.

BofA announced a far-reaching reorganization of its senior management team on Tuesday, which included the departure of consumer bank chief Joe Price and wealth management head Sallie Krawcheck.

Banks are shedding jobs worldwide as stricter regulations and a tough second quarter for trading income take their toll on investment banking units in particular.

More than 70,000 staff cuts have been announced this year or are reported to be in the works at U.S. and European banks, some of them to be lost over three or four year programs.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[eace356]

09:26 AM on 10/01/2011

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[Hdan We]

12:02 AM on 09/13/2011

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[marie34]

12:18 PM on 09/12/2011

I am withdrawing all my money. I suggest everyone to do that. WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY!

[kidcat24]

07:40 AM on 09/12/2011

I'm sure if they didn't dump millions into Perry's lap they could save some of those jobs.

[Mahi Joe]

06:43 AM on 09/12/2011

Maybe BofA can save millions of dollars if they would stop sending all that junk mail they send out.

[Irvin Spencer]

03:36 AM on 09/12/2011

Bofa cutting jobs, adding to the woes of the economy, and surely to add more foreclosures to thier books. I honestly don't know how long the economy will hold up under the weight of debt. I am just working smart, efficient, resoucefully, and as fast as I can to secure some security before th door is closed, and the dream is no longer possible. If you make payments you really don't own it.

[Gary St Lawrence]

03:15 AM on 09/12/2011

To paraphrase Shakespeare; "It's time to kill all the bankers."

http://garystlawrence.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/its-time-to-kill-all-the-bankers

[RPDash]

12:51 AM on 09/12/2011

As far as I'm concerned BoA can be cut into a million little pieces, they deserve the worst.

[Edy Kel]

07:23 PM on 09/11/2011

I'm sure if they slashed their own salaries first, they could save those jobs.

[baileywick]

06:19 PM on 09/11/2011

Then they'll give out a couple of hundred million dollars in bonus'.

[AlsoSarah]

06:00 PM on 09/11/2011

There is karma, even in business.

[Peanut Santiago]

02:08 PM on 09/11/2011

Too bad they don't get rid of the dead wood at the top first.

[nvr2late]

12:46 PM on 09/11/2011

My first reaction is this is insane. Every BofA I go into, they are like white elephants, meaning the square footage in these banks has become obscene. Why are so many holding on to this real estate. The value will most probably never come back for decades if ever. They could sell off these properties, or at the least minimize the square footage needed in all of them, or go into markets, et cetera,, double up, before letting employees go. There's already a minimum number of employees in these banks.

[AlsoSarah]

06:04 PM on 09/11/2011

They are still clinging to the TBTF mentality. Those at the top have already fled with the cash. Those remaining will hold on tightly. Unfortunately, it will be those trying to make a living that will lose their jobs.

[whoknew42]

12:14 PM on 09/11/2011

First BoA asks for bailout money because of their own screw-ups
Then they kick families out of their homes - many times unjustly
Then they fire thousands of people

Yea capitalism!

[fortressfountain]

10:07 AM on 09/11/2011

When a bank lays or any other corporation lays off a lot of people it means they are not making money-no matter how they try to spin it.

[TomFox]

11:37 AM on 09/11/2011

I hear what you are saying....I think I just say that they are not making the return on investment they think should be getting. So perhaps they want 25% instead of 15% or 10% or whatever. They are making money...just not as much as they want, because there is an expectation investors can get a better return elsewhere. Just my two cents.

[chesswizard3]

11:28 PM on 09/11/2011

Agreed tomFox. Or perhaps they are preparing profit margins for the next few quarters

Banks are making money, just less than they had been making before.
Banks are not lending much and have sat on huge researves for years now, that is earning revenues in other investments (our tax dollars compliment of the Fed).
BofA has lost equity value otherwise it is doing nicely.