Bank of America to Cut 12,500 Jobs
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Apr 5, 4:26 PM (ET)

By PAUL NOWELL

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Bank of America Corp., which completed its merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp. last week, said Monday it will cut 12,500 jobs, or about 7 percent of its combined work force.

Approximately 30 percent of the cuts will come through attrition, the Charlotte-based bank said. The reductions will occur over the next two years and will begin this month.

Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis has said he wants to achieve about $1.6 billion in cost savings by the end of 2005. The two banks don't have a large number of overlapping branches that can be closed, which is a major source of savings in many bank mergers.

Instead, the bank has said it expects to get about $650 million in savings from trimming overlapping operations and processes. For example, the bank will be able to consolidate headquarters for combined business lines, Lewis has said.

"When we discuss job reductions, we are talking about positions not necessarily people," said Marc Oken, transition executive for Bank of America. "As a large employer, we will continue to create jobs over time. These are difficult decisions and we are committed to supporting our associates during this time."

Wow! 12, 500 people getting fired! Maybe it's a good thing I work for EDS now?