Getting a head start on its pledge to eliminate jobs, Bank of America cut about 20 senior-level executives last week, according to the Journal. The commercial bank, which recently announced its plans to cut approximately 35,000 jobs after its planned merger with Merrill Lynch, dismissed several high ranking officers and counselors in an effort to reduce personnel redundancy and endure the difficult economic climate.
The cuts, which occurred last week, followed an announcement on December 11 that the bank would be eliminating up to 35,000 positions, about 10 percent of the combined work force of BofA and the acquired Merrill Lynch. The merger will make Bank of America the nation’s largest bank by assets when it closes early next year.
Cuts at BofA follow a series of firings that have hit many financial firms in recent months as Wall Street attempts to stay afloat in a period of economic decline. Significant job cuts include intentions to eliminate 52,000 at Citigroup, and cuts at Wachovia after it is acquired by Wells Fargo.
Though BofA has not officially confirmed its executive cuts due to privacy concerns, sources within the company have revealed some names, including deputy general counsel David Onorato, compliance/risk executive Helga Houston, e-commerce executive Lance Drummond, West Coast consumer banking head Brad Dinsmore, sales executive Mark Ricci, and Chris Swecker, manager of corporate security.
Third quarter financial statements indicate that BofA and Merrill Lynch employ approximately 300,000 workers between them. The original merger deal, which appraised for about $50 billion, has been diminished by declining share prices to about $20.5 billion.