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In the wake of reports that M&T Bank would still lay off hundreds of People’s United Bank staff following the two lenders’ merger, Connecticut’s top Democrats are putting pressure on M&T.
The Hartford Courant and the Stamford Advocate reported that M&T plans to lay off 325 workers in Connecticut and eliminate 333 positions after walking back plans announced last summer to ax 660 staffers based in Bridgeport at the former People’s United headquarters, along with 87 others in Connecticut.
The initial plan was widely condemned by local and state leaders, and initiated scrutiny by Attorney General William Tong’s office.
When it acquired People’s United, M&T had pledged to maintain at least 1,000 jobs at the old People’s United headquarters within 12 months of completing the systems conversion, finished with some difficulty over Labor Day weekend. Problems encountered by some customers attracted criticisms from Tong and several U.S. senators.
After meeting with M&T CEO René Jones on Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont tweeted that he would “hold M&T accountable for their commitment to the state”
And Tong tweeted a statement criticizing the bank’s newest layoff plans, saying “I want M&T to succeed. I want this merger to work out. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get there.”
“Commitments were made to our state and to M&T’s Connecticut workforce,” Tong said, “and I don’t believe these numbers live up to that promise, both with regards to total workers retained and the salaries and positions they have been able to retain.”
