Fifth Third Trims Overhead

Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati has laid off an unspecified number of employees as part of an ongoing effort to control expenses.

Fifth Third spokeswoman Debra DeCourcy said that the $114.5 billion-asset company was continually making staffing adjustments based on business demand, workload and technological advances, the told the Dayton Business Journal reported Thursday. She did not specify how many jobs were cut but said that the total amounted to "far less than 1% of our 22,000 employee population."

Fifth Third completed the layoffs within the last 10 days, the Dayton Business Journal reported.

The company's noninterest expense rose 1% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier due in part to a 2% increase in salaries and bonuses and a 16% increase in employee benefits costs. Overall, Fifth Third's quarterly profit rose 13% from the prior year, to $305 million.