Merger to Cost Jobs of About 50 Top Crocker Executives : Wells Fargo Begins Move to Cut Thousands of Positions

Wells Fargo & Co. has told about 50 of Crocker National Corp.’s 75 top executives that they will be fired when the two big California banks merge at the end of this month.

The termination notices are the first of what are expected to be thousands of layoffs of employees at both Wells Fargo and Crocker as redundant jobs are eliminated.

Wells Fargo Chairman Carl E. Reichardt has said the combined work force will have to be reduced significantly to make the $1.07-billion merger work. The combination is the largest bank merger in U.S. history and will make Wells Fargo the nation’s 10th-biggest bank.

When the merger was announced in February, Wells Fargo had 14,000 employees and Crocker had about 12,000. The numbers have been reduced slightly since then by retirements and voluntary departures, but the big reductions are not expected until the end of the month.

Sources said the overall work force may be reduced by 4,000 to 6,000 workers.

‘First Time They Named Names’

The executive layoffs were disclosed to Crocker Chairman Frank V. Cahouet on Monday, and he informed the affected officials Monday and Tuesday, Crocker spokesman David Sanson said. Some fired executives had to tell subordinates that they, too, were being let go.

Although Wells Fargo’s intent to eliminate jobs, especially in executive ranks, has been known for some time, this week’s action was “the first time they named names,” Sanson said.

Cahouet was told when the merger was announced that he would not be asked to stay on. He was offered a seat on the Wells Fargo board of directors but has not yet decided whether he will accept.

The Crocker name will disappear in the combination, as will an undetermined number of the 620 branches of the two banks.

Reichardt is known as a relentless cost cutter in his drive to achieve efficiency and profits. In his four years as Wells Fargo, he has closed nearly a quarter of the bank’s branches and reduced employment by more than 3,000.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Betty Lattie said fired Crocker workers will be given 30 days’ notice with pay once the acquisition is completed. Executives will be paid their regular salaries for an amount of time based on their title and years of service with the company, she added.

She said that, for example, a senior vice president who has been with the company for 25 years would be paid his full salary for 15 months after the initial 30 days’ notice.