NEW YORK - Bank of America Corp. (BAC) is planning to cut as many as 13,000 jobs as it completes its acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp. (FBF), people familiar with the expense cuts told The Wall Street Journal.

The job cuts would come through layoffs and attrition from the operations of both banks and will begin in April to coincide with the expected completion of Bank of America’s $48 billion purchase of Fleet, according to these people. The job cuts, which range from 12,000 to 13,000, amount to about 7% of Bank of America and Fleet’s combined work force of 181,000.

Today, shareholders of both banks are expected to approve the acquisition in meetings in Charlotte, N.C., and Boston, where Bank of America and Fleet, respectively, are based. The Federal Reserve Board approved the combination March 8 .

The combination of the two banks, announced in October, will give Bank of America a big footprint in New England, a region in which it has a minimal retail presence. The combination also is a gamble on retail and commercial banking, which account for about two-thirds of Bank of America’s earnings. The deal will create the nation’s third-largest bank in terms of assets, after Citigroup Inc. (C), of New York, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), also of New York, after it completes its acquisition of Bank One Corp.

Investors now are waiting to see whether Bank of America can make good on its promise, made in October when the merger was announced, to achieve $250 million in cost savings this year and $1.1 billion in 2005.

read the full story:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/17/news/companies/boa_cuts.dj/index.htm?cnn=yes