Bank of America Corp (BoA) is planning to cut 16,000 jobs by year-end as it speeds up a company-wide cost-cutting initiative amid declining revenues, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The job cuts would put the second largest US bank a year ahead of schedule in eliminating 30,000 jobs under a program called Project New BAC. The job cuts could shrink the bank's workforce below that of rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co.
The reductions were outlined in a document given to top management, the Journal reported. Since taking the helm in 2010, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan has been working to streamline and reduce risk at a company that has lagged rivals in recovering from the financial crisis, largely due to mortgage-related losses.
The US bank's spokesman Larry Di Rita declined to comment. The bank had 275,460 employees at the end of the second quarter.
Under Project New BAC, BoA has said it planned to eliminate $5 billion in annual expenses and 30,000 jobs by the end of 2013, largely through cuts in consumer and technology areas.
A second phase is expected to eliminate $3 billion in annual expenses by mid-2015 by making undisclosed cuts in capital markets, commercial banking and wealth management areas.
Reuters