(16 December 2008 – USA) Bank of America has announced that it will cut around 10 percent of its workforce over the next three years, due to both the acquisition of Merrill Lynch and the ongoing financial crisis.Bank of America expects to have a final plan early in 2009 and estimates the reduction of approximately 30,000 to 35,000 positions over the next three years.
The bank said that the reductions are designed to eliminate redundancies created as a result of the merger with Merrill Lynch and to reflect the current recessionary environment.
The reductions are coming from both companies and affect all lines of business and staff units, although specifics are yet to be determined.
The giant US bank said in a statement that the job cuts reflect the pending merger with Merrill Lynch and the weak economic environment, which is affecting the level of business activity.
Despite this, Bank of America said that it continues to do business actively with all of its client segments.
The bank also said that it continues to benefit from a flight to safety, attracting deposits and new client relationships. In addition, the company continues to actively originate loans through all of its credit product lines.