Wells Fargo & Co. said on Thursday it would reduce its headcount by about 5 percent to 10 percent within the next three years as part of a turnaround plan.
The nation’s fourth largest bank had roughly 264,500 employees as of June 30, making a 10 percent reduction representative of about 26,450 jobs. Wells Fargo said the latest reduction would reflect displacements as well as normal team-member attrition.
The cuts will help Wells reach its goal of reducing costs by $4 billion by 2020 as it tries to grow profits and recover from a series of scandals while operating under the Federal Reserve’s asset cap.
Wells Fargo has also said it will reduce its branch count by about 800 by 2020 and sell non-core businesses to lower costs and become more efficient. Last month the bank laid off 600 employees in its mortgage division which has faced headwinds amid a slowdown in refinancing demand.
The layoffs were not a surprise to Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Brian Kleinhanzl, and that sentiment was reflected in Wall Street’s muted reaction to the news. The stock rose 0.6 percent to $55.55 during Thursday trading.
The bank did not specify which departments or regions would be impacted by the reductions, but it said the cuts will be made to reflect changing consumer preferences as more customers perform banking tasks using self-service technology.
Wells Fargo’s shares rose 0.6 percent to $55.55 in late afternoon trading on Thursday.