American lender Wells Fargo plans to cut hundreds of jobs in the Philippines while moving a portion of them to India as it joins other banks in similar moves consolidating workers in fewer locations.
The bank plans to ax some 700 positions in Manila while shifting a portion of the jobs to India where the firm already has about 12,000 tech workers. The San Francisco-based lender is also telling about 650 tech workers in the U.S. that they will need to relocate to a larger market to keep their jobs, according to a «Bloomberg» report.
It’s part of a global workplace strategy that emphasizes co-location and collaboration. «This strategy will ultimately provide meaningful benefits to our employees and customers, but we recognize this change will have a significant impact on some employees and their families,» said Wells Fargo's spokesman Peter Gilchrist in a media statement.
Part of Technology Strategy
Under the plan, the bank's technology workforce in Manila falls to 50 from 750. Plans announced this week are part of the overall strategy rolled out by technology head Saul Van Beurden after he joined from J.P. Morgan Chase last year.
Wall Street banks have been merging technology operations, often shutting down sites to cut costs and increase efficiency. In a similar move, Goldman Sachs Group has announced that some jobs will move to campuses in London and Bengaluru, India. Elsewhere, Bank of America Corp. said in October that it has concentrated its servers into 23 data centers from 67 sites.
Broad Changes
The bank's new chief Charlie Scharf is making broad organizational changes as part of efforts to turn around the bank after years of scandals. Wells Fargo’s technology department has been a focal point for regulators, especially after a high-profile, days-long failure of one of the bank’s data centers last year.
Wells Fargo is providing «a significant notice period and extensive support to all impacted employees,» Gilchrist said, adding that workers will keep their jobs till the end of the year.
