Bank of America to cut up to 35,000 jobs

Bank of America Corp. said Thursday it will cut approximately 30,000 to 35,000 positions over the next three years as it absorbs Merrill Lynch & Co. and grapples with the soft economy.

The bank said a final number of layoffs will not be determined until early 2009.

On Sept. 15, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America said it was buying Merrill Lynch in a $50-billion US all-stock transaction.

As with other U.S. investment banks, Merrill Lynch was battered by the credit crisis brought on by problems in the American housing market, including rising defaults and falling home prices.

The cuts announced Thursday are the latest in the U.S. banking sector. Citigroup expects to have cut 75,000 jobs, or 20 per cent of its peak staffing level, by next year. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is cutting about 7,000 employees, along with 9,200 jobs at Washington Mutual Inc., which it bought in September.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley have also moved to reduce their staffing by 10 per cent.