(22 August 2011 – United States) Bank of America (BofA) will cut about 3500 jobs by the end of September according to a company spokesman.BofA spokesman Scott Silvestri said on Friday the reductions are being made ‘‘to meet the opportunities in the marketplace’’ and not part of a drive to refocus the bank.
The United States biggest bank, BofA posted a second-quarter US$9.1 billion (A$8.8 billion) loss due to a settlement over subprime mortgage claims.
‘‘The reductions are not part of a companywide initiative announced earlier this year which is focused on driving our customer-oriented strategy and financial results,’’ he said.
The spokesman said the international company, the largest US bank by deposits, began notifying employees recently.
The latest round of job cuts, which Silvestri said were across all lines of the bank’s business, is in addition to about 2500 reductions made so far this year, he said.
BofA operates in more than 40 countries and had about 288,000 employees on December 31, 2010, according to its annual report.
On Monday BofA announced it would sell its US$8.6 billion (A$8.3 billion) credit card portfolio in Canada to TD Bank Group and end European card activities.
The bank said it would exit its credit card businesses in Britain and Ireland, which combined have US$12 billion in loans and more than 4000 employees.