Bank of America job cuts could hit 40,000—report

NEW YORK – US financial giant Bank of America is considering cutting up to 40,000 jobs as part of a hotly anticipated round of belt-tightening, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The Journal cited unnamed sources as saying the company had discussed cuts of 30,000 to 45,000 jobs, but it said the numbers could still change and that the decision would be carried out over a period of a few years.

Such cuts would amount to more than 10 percent of the company’s workforce.

The bank has been pummelled with losses from the 2007-2009 financial crisis and has recently been hit with a series of multi-billion dollar lawsuits relating to dodgy mortgage-backed securities issued by its subsidiaries, Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.

Weighed down with the lawsuits, the bank reported a net loss of more than $9 billion in the second quarter.

Amid rumors that it had serious capital deficiency problems, last month it announced a $5 billion injection from investment guru Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

It has also said it will sell half of its 10 percent stake in China Construction Bank to raise about $8.3 billion in cash.