New York, Sep 13 (IANS/EFE) Bank of America Corp., the largest US financial institution by assets, announced Monday a restructuring plan that calls for $5 billion in annual cost reductions by 2014 and the elimination of 30,000 positions.
Project New BAC – the name is based on the company’s stock ticker symbol – aims to make Bank of America ‘a more focused, leaner, and more efficient company’, according to a press release.
‘The company continues to sell non-core business units and assets that don’t support its strategy, thereby strengthening the balance sheet, and improving capital and liquidity,’ the statement said.
BAC said it expects much of the staff reduction to be accomplished through attrition.
The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday that BAC was contemplating up to 40,000 layoffs.
Project New BAC got underway last week with a management shakeup that saw David Darnell and Tom Montag named as co-chief operating officers of the giant bank, which currently has 288,000 employees.
BAC is still trying to resolve the problems associated with the 2008 purchase of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, a move that saddled the bank with massive losses.
In a bid to shore up confidence, BAC reached a deal last month with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who paid $5 billion to 50,000 preferred shares in the bank.
BAC’s share price has fallen more than 47 percent this year and Monday’s announcement appeared to make little impression on investors, spurring a modest climb of 0.29 percent in the bank’s stock.
