Wells Fargo to Lay Off 424 Employees

As part of a reorganization announced in May, Wells Fargo Bank has issued layoff notices to 424 branch employees.

At least 72 of them work in Orange County, where the bank has 54 offices, said Kathleen Shilkret, a spokeswoman at the San Francisco headquarters of Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is California’s second-largest bank.

The layoffs come as no surprise. Earlier this year, the bank said it would reorganize its retail branches, a move that would involve a cutback of 700 employees.

Some of those people may be given severance packages or other jobs with the company.

“Right now, our retail division is very active,” Shilkret said. “We’re reorganizing retail in response to non-bank competition. We’re trying to work smarter and leaner.”

Wells Fargo now has about 30,000 full-time and part-time employees.

In trading on the New York Stock Exchange Monday, the company’s stock dropped 12.5 cents a share to close at $116.375.