Local impact of Bank of America job cuts unclear

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

Bank of America isn’t saying how its plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs nationwide will impact the Capital Region, but the company said no retail bank branches are currently scheduled to close.

“We’re not providing a geographic breakdown of job reductions at this point, so I’m unable to speak to potential impact in the Albany-Schenectady-Saratoga area,” Bank of America regional spokesman T.J. Crawford said.

The bank, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., said Monday it plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs — about 10 percent of its work force — over the next few years as part of a restructuring.

The banking giant has seen billions of dollars in losses in recent years on bad mortgages, many of which it acquired when it bought Countrywide Financial in 2008.

In Monday’s announcement, Bank Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said the goal is to slash $5 billion in annual expenses.

Bank of America’s stock price, which has dropped 48 percent since January, rose slightly Monday in reaction to the announcement, to $7.05 per share, up seven cents from the Friday close. But it lost five cents Tuesday, closing at $7.

In March, Bank of America announced a reorganization of its home loan business that included the elimination of a loan fulfillment center in Saratoga Springs, with 34 jobs cut.

In Monday’s announcement, bank officials said they hope to cut many of the jobs by not filling vacancies as they occur. The announcement said nothing about branch closings, though bank officials said in March that 10 percent of branches will be cut over the next few years.

“At this time, there are no scheduled closures in your coverage area,” Crawford said in a statement Tuesday.

Bank of America has about 30 retail branches in the greater Capital Region, but also a significant administrative presence, including commercial and government banking, healthcare and institutions banking, private wealth management, consumer mortgages and the Merrill Lynch investment firm. Crawford would not say how many employees it has in the region.

Bank of America has about 288,000 employees nationwide.