After days of wrangling between Bank of America and the Connecticut governor’s and attorney general’s offices over the release of the number of FleetBoston Financial employees who were laid off, the bank responded late last week with the news that about 100 employees across the state had been offered severance packages.
The layoffs are a byproduct of Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America’s acquisition of Boston-based Fleet. The layoffs raised the ire of Connecticut officials who cited previous promises from BofA that the bank would maintain employment levels in the state.
But the controversy has been quelled after BofA informed Attorney General Richard Blumenthal that the bank has created 105 new, open positions in Connecticut that could be filled by existing or new employees.
‘No Final Number’
Blumenthal wrote a letter to the bank on Aug. 26 thanking BofA officials for releasing the numbers.
“I appreciated your providing this information and I understand that you will regularly keep me apprised of the effect of the merger on Connecticut employees in the future,” Blumenthal wrote. “I fully expect – and am grateful for your efforts to ensure – that Bank of America will honor its commitment to maintain or increase overall employment levels.”
Blumenthal also specified what Chandler Howard, the chairman and chief executive officer of Fleet Bank Connecticut, told him during a talk they shared.
“In our conversation, you stated that approximately 100 Connecticut employees in Fleet Bank Connecticut – out of about 5,000 total employees – have been offered severance packages,” Blumenthal wrote. “Some of these employees have been offered the option of accepting other positions, so at this point there is no final number as to who may lose or choose to leave their jobs.”
There have been no new developments since the letter, said Tara York, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office.
Meanwhile, the controversy in Massachusetts is far from over. BofA Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis was in Boston this week to meet with local officials to discuss the layoffs in the Bay State, according to the Associated Press.
The bank has not released the number of layoffs in Massachusetts, although a spokeswoman last week said it was lower than the 1,500 reported by media outlets. The bank had kept mum about the Connecticut layoffs until contacting Blumenthal last week.
Lewis met with public officials and editorial boards on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“He’s coming to Boston because he wants to help people better understand what Bank of America’s commitment is to the area and the things that we are doing,” bank spokesman Bob Stickler told the AP prior to the visit.
