Wells Fargo Eliminating 3,800 Jobs in Restructuring

Wells Fargo announced Wednesday it is slashing 3,800 jobs and closing 638 Wells Fargo Financial stores as part of an overall restructuring.

According to a press release from the bank, 2,800 jobs will be eliminated in the next 60 days with another 1,000 likely to come in the next year. The remainder of the 14,000 employees of Wells Fargo Financial will be reassigned to other Wells Fargo businesses.

“We know that this decision will be extremely difficult for those dedicated team member and their families who will be affected,” said David Kvamme, president of Wells Fargo Financial. “We have already identified positions for thousands of our employees who are committed to finding new positions for as many impacted team member as possible.”

The cuts are the result of Wells Fargo ending the origination of non-prime portfolio mortgage loans.  In the release, Wells Fargo said its 2008 merger with Wachovia eliminated the need for a separate network of Wells Fargo Financial local offices. Less than 2 percent of all Wells Fargo real estate loans were originated in Wells Fargo Financial stores in the first quarter of 2010, the bank said.