First Indiana Corp. of Indianapolis said it plans to eliminate 70 jobs and consolidate all its back-office operations into one department; the moves will result in a $1.1 million charge to third-quarter earnings.
The $2.1 billion-asset company plans to lay off 30 employees and not fill 40 positions that are vacant or will become so soon because of retirements. Most of the charge will come through $900,000 of severance payments and $250,000 of contract termination expenses.
First Indiana announced the plan after the markets closed Friday, just two days after it said it would sell six loan production offices outside its home state to the $2.7 billion-asset TierOne Corp. of Lincoln, Neb.
First Indiana did not disclose the price but said it would record a $1 million gain on the sale in the third quarter. It plans to concentrate on its core markets in Indiana.
The company said it expects the job cuts to result in annual pretax savings of $4 million. At midday Monday, First Indiana's stock was down 0.55% from Friday's close, to $19.89.
