CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The largest U.S. bank, Bank of America, said it will cut 3,500 jobs before October and possibly thousands more later.
A company spokesman, Scott Silvestri, said Friday, "The company regularly assesses the efficiencies of its operations and will make adjustments," The Boston Globe reported.
The layoffs for this quarter amount to 1 percent of the bank's workforce. The cuts, Silvestri said, would be spread out "across most lines of business."
BofA had already said it would cut 2,500 jobs this year. The total could end up at 10,000 job cuts, the Globe reported.
The bank has been particularly hard hit by the financial downturn, which affected every major bank in the country. In 2008, BofA purchased mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. in a deal that ranks as one of the most ill-timed corporate acquisitions in recent times.
In the second quarter, BofA agreed to an $8.5 billion settlement related to Countrywide losses. In the quarter, the bank reported losses of $8.8 billion.
