Bank of America has begun telling technology and operations employees this week that they're being laid off as part of the company's ongoing efficiency initiative, Reuters reported yesterday.
The affected employees are said to be in staff support functions and part of the 30,000 positions the bank has said it will eliminate over the next few years.
The first phase of the Project New BAC efficiency program, launched in April, is focused on consumer banking and support areas of the company. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank has about 100,000 technology and operations employees in 40 countries. At the end of the third quarter, the bank had a total of 288,739 employees, Reuters reports.
Bank of America would not provide numbers or locations of jobs being eliminated. A bank spokeswoman did provide this statement: "Bank of America continually reviews and assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations. As a result, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to eliminate certain staff support functions in technology and operations. These job cuts are part of the previously announced position reductions taking place in connection with Project New BAC, an effort to increase revenue, simplify and streamline work and align expenses to Bank of America's customer-focused strategy."
Another Reuters story this week reported that Bank of America employees are flooding rival companies with resumes as the cost-cutting program gets under way.
Meanwhile, in the town of Chester, England (population 77,040), business leaders are welcoming the news that Bank of America will create around 1,000 jobs by opening a new global technology and operations center there, according to the Daily Post. Bank of America Europe Card Services (formerly MBNA) is already based in Chester.
The new facility will support the bank's global banking, financial markets and wealth management businesses, according to the paper. However, the bank also plans to cut 150 jobs at its card services unit in Chester, in addition to the four hundred jobs it's already cut at the division, which is currently up for sale.
"Over the past few years, Bank of America has been transforming our operating model to be more global in nature," says Laura Hunter, Bank of America spokeswoman. "As our global strategy evolves, our needs evolve, creating opportunities like the one to build a stronger GT&O platform in the form of a dedicated T&O center in Chester. This new center will sharpen our focus on GT&O strategic priorities of enabling the business, reducing risk, simplifying the organization and improving our competitive cost position."
Hunter says work to create the center will commence in 2012. She confirmed that the bank expects to create up to 1,000 new jobs within this center across various T&O lines of business.
