CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bank of America Corp. is cutting 12,500 jobs over the next two years as a result of its merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp., the company announced yesterday.
The cuts, which represent about 7 percent of the companies’ combined work force of 181,000, will begin this month. About 30 percent of them will be accomplished through attrition.
The Charlotte bank said it expects to realize about $650 million in savings from trimming overlapping operations.
Bank of America said it would shed the jobs over two years, with about 30 percent of them going through attrition — people leaving for reasons such as retirement but not being replaced.
Several workers leaving Bank of America’s headquarters in downtown Charlotte last night were not aware of the company’s plans. Loan officer Veronica Dawkins said she had not received any word from the company.
Spokeswoman Eloise Hale would not specify where positions would be eliminated, saying only they will be “corporationwide.”
The completion last week of Bank of America’s purchase of Fleet created the nation’s third-largest bank, with assets estimated at $966 billion.
As part of its merger agreement, the company committed to maintain overall employment levels in New England.
The bank has about 35 million customers, 5,700 branches from coast to coast and 16,500 automated teller machines.
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