Bank of America Plans Shakeup, Will Lay Off 3,000 Employees
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
CHARLOTTE — Bank of America Corp. is poised to launch a major shakeup of its investment bank, including layoffs, and the retirement of the head of its Global Corporate and Investment Banking unit, people familiar with the plan told the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
A Bank of America executive confirmed the plan and said an official announcement was expected.
Last week, Bank of America disclosed disastrous results for the investment bank. Losses in the unit’s trading account totaled more than $1.45 billion, triggering a 32% decline in net income for the bank, compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
The dismal performance was a major setback for the chairman and chief executive of Bank of America, Kenneth Lewis, and his goal to build a major investment banking presence on Wall Street. Instead, the president of the unit and a 38-veteran Bank of America executive, Gene Taylor, will retire, according to people familiar with the plan. Mr. Taylor declined to comment.
The bank will also lay off about 3,000 employees, with the biggest hits coming in the investment banking unit, and begin a comprehensive strategic review of that line of business, those people said.
