As Chinese deal-making slows down, Bank of America Corp. is looking to control costs globally. According to a person familiar with the matter, the bank informed around 40 bankers to look for new roles within the organization, and the bankers were from Asia.
The bank told these to their employees on Wednesday. The banks told the employees to look for jobs in other divisions within the company, the person said. But if the employee doesn’t find another job internally within a given period, they may face redundancy.
The China equities capital market division was most affected, as most of the employees work in China equities capital markets and in junior roles, while a few work in banking and markets divisions.
Due to stalled Chinese dealmaking and flat prospects, the bank reduced its personnel in the region while simultaneously maintaining its headcount globally. The bank has 217,000 workers worldwide. While the bank’s spokesperson declined to comment.
The move was first reported by Bloomberg on Thursday. During the first quarter’s earnings, an executive mentioned that by the end of June, Bank of America expects the employee strength to be reduced to 213,000.
Brian Moynihan, the Chief Executive, added in the discussion in April that the bank was “not laying people off,” and in turn, they would transfer the employees who needed to change their positions.
Employees were moved to product specialist positions from wealth management and lending within the company’s global operations organization; less than 200 personnel were moved. A similar program is implemented in the Asia-Pacific region.
