[140911.EN.BIZ] Bank Of America To Cut 30,000 Jobs

NEW YORK - Bank of America will cut about 30,000 jobs as part of a broad restructuring plan aimed at slashing costs at the embattled US banking giant, the company said on Monday.

The cuts, which represent about 10 per cent of BofA's workforce, will be carried out 'over the next few years', the bank said in a statement.

Bank of America said it would cut US$5 billion in annual expenses by 2014 as part of 'Project New BAC', after the company's three-letter stock ticker.

'As the company implements the thousands of decisions from Project New BAC over time, it intends to become a more focused, leaner, and more efficient company,' the bank said.

The US$5 billion in savings - which represent just over 18 per cent of Bank of America's yearly costs - will come from streamlining operations to focus on core businesses, it said.

Investors welcomed the restructuring announcement, lifting BofA's shares by 1.4 per cent in mid-morning trade on a day when other financial stocks were driven sharply lower by the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis.

Bank of America's stock has dropped sharply in recent months amid concerns about the strength of its capital base and fears of mounting legal expenses from its disastrous involvement with subprime mortgages prior to the 2008 financial crisis. 

Source : AFP-Business Times.