Bank of America, the biggest US bank, will cut about 3,500 jobs by the end of September, a company spokesman said on August 19.
BofA spokesman Scott Silvestri said the reductions are being made "to meet the opportunities in the marketplace," and not part of a drive to refocus the bank, which posted a second-quarter $9.1 billion loss due to a settlement over subprime mortgage claims.
"The reductions are not part of a companywide initiative (New BAC) announced earlier this year which is focused on driving our customer-oriented strategy and financial results," he said.
The spokesman said the international company, the largest US bank by deposits, began notifying employees recently. The latest round of job cuts, which Silvestri said were across all lines of the bank's business, is in addition to about 2,500 reductions made so far this year, he said.
BofA operates in more than 40 countries and had about 288,000 employees on December 31, 2010, according to its annual report.
The spokesman did not mention plans for additional cuts. The Wall Street Journal reported on August 19 that "at least 10,000 jobs are likely to be eliminated," citing a person familiar with the situation.
On August 15, BofA announced it would sell its $8.6 billion credit card portfolio in Canada to TD Bank Group and end European card activities. The bank, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, said it would exit its credit card businesses in Britain and Ireland, which combined have $12 billion in loans and more than 4,000 employees.