RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Major layoffs at Wells Fargo have been predicted for weeks, and posts by workers at The Layoff.com indicate the reductions have begun. Wells Fargo in a statement says cuts will be made across most lines of business and its footprint of operations.

“Yes woke up to meeting invite and received my notice this morning. I was told my position was eliminated and HR used a rating scale thats unknown so supposedly don’t have a clue as to why I was selected. 14 years and now this,” wrote one poster.

Several others said layoffs have begun with one saying 500 reductions had already been made in one department. But some posters disputed the reports.

Wells Fargo employs some 2,700 people in the Triangle and 36,500 across the state. Most of those jobs are in Charlotte.

Charlotte media outlets had warned that the job cuts would begin Tuesday.

Vice President of Corporate Communications Steve Carlson told KCCI TV in Iowa that “the company has been transparent about a multi-year effort that will include workforce reductions in nearly all of the company’s business lines and locations,” the station reported. He declined to discuss specifics.

Earlier this month sources told the news site Pensions & Investments reported that Wells Fargo had plans to cut its labor force of some 266,000 by between 20-25%, from 50,000 to 66,000.

The New York Post and Bloomberg News have reported that 700 jobs had been cut in the Wells Fargo Commercial Banking group.

Wells Fargo

The bank is acknowledging cuts are being made and will affect “nearly all” of its business lines with layoffs coming in “most geographies.”

“We are at the beginning of a multiyear effort to build a stronger, more efficient company and improve the experience for our customers, employees, communities, and shareholders. The work will consist of a broad range of near, medium- and long-term actions, including workforce reductions, to bring our expenses more in line with our peers and create a company that is more nimble, streamlined, and customer-focused,” Wells Fargo said in a statement provided to Fox 46 in Charlotte.

“As part of our efforts to strengthen the foundation of our company, we will have workforce reductions in most geographies across our footprint and nearly all of our business lines and functions, and expect to reduce the size of our workforce through a combination of attrition, the elimination of open roles, and job displacements. We are executing this work in a thoughtful and deliberate manner, and we will communicate openly and honestly with impacted employees and provide severance, career assistance, and other services to assist them.”

The statement is very similar to one provided to the Post.

$1 billion a year in savings

Layoffs are coming after CEO Charlie Scharf had declared that cuts were being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wells Fargo has been struggling to recover from a financial scandal two years ago.

While not discussing layoffs spcifically, Scharf in a Wells Fargo earnings report two weeks ago said the financial giant had taken a $718 million charge that would result in $1 billion a year in cost reductions a year.

Why the cuts?

Dr. Mike Walden, an economist at N.C. State, says banks are under pressure on multiple fronts.

“Two forces are at work.  First, the pandemic has lingered longer than many expected, so banks are looking to cut costs,” Walden told WRAL TechWire.

“Second, banks are seeing more cyber banking activity, so they have become even more convinced the future is in tele-banking rather than in-person banking.”

Pensions & Investments said Wells Fargo began telling some employees about cuts as far back as August.

Closing and downsizing some branch banks would be part of the cuts, Pensions & Investments added.

Note: This story has been updated to reflect the number of employees the bank says it has in N.C.