Wells Fargo to Cut Up to 4,600 Jobs

Wells Fargo & Co. could reduce its staff by as much as 4,600 people, or 5% of its 92,000 full-time workers, as the seventh-largest U.S. bank eliminates “redundant” jobs.

The severance-related costs could total $280 million, said spokesman Larry Haeg. The costs would be covered in the $375-million charge Wells took in the fourth quarter for personnel-related expenses following the takeover of Wells by Norwest Corp. in November, Haeg said. The merged company took the venerable Wells Fargo name and moved its headquarters to San Francisco.

However, Wells said the layoffs could be much less severe. “We don’t think we’ll even come close to losing” 5% of the bank’s staff, Haeg said. Wells expects “natural turnover” and expansion prospects to keep the job loss down, Haeg said. So far, about 700 positions have been eliminated.