BofA to close its childcare centers

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Bank of America said it was closing down its 10 childcare centers, which are run by Bright Horizons, a Massachusetts company.

The move is part of a cost-cutting strategy that includes freezing the company's pension plan and shifting to contributions to 401(k) plans and cutting 30,000 jobs, with 16,000 of those job cuts expected by the end of the year, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Tuesday.

Bright Horizons said it had opened a phone line to help parents find new arrangements for day care.

"If employees are treated well, they in turn take care of customers, and that affects the bottom line, which improves shareholder value," said Hugh McColl Jr., the chief executive officer of Bank of America in 1992, when it was known as NationsBank.

Since then, Bank of America has been repeatedly recognized by Working Mother magazine as one of the 10 best companies in the country for working mothers in part because of its daycare centers, the newspaper said.