Wells Fargo plans to reduce its workforce by 5 to 10% over the next three years

The San Francisco Bank has approximately 265,000 team members. Given the estimated workforce, the proposed downsizing plan could theoretically affect 26,500 Wells Fargo positions under a 10% reduction.

Bank officials did not immediately respond to an email regarding the number of positions likely to be affected.

The employee meeting was the latest in a series of Wells Fargo meetings on the company's transformation plans in a context of increasing competition and fallout from a scandal over unauthorized accounts.

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Sloan told company employees that downsizing was a response to "changing customer preferences, including the accelerated adoption of digital self-service capabilities." He also cited a "continuing commitment to efficiency".

In addition, Sloan promised that the bank would keep employees informed of downsizing.

"Wells Fargo takes very seriously any changes involving its team members and, as always, we will be thoughtful and transparent and treat the team members with respect," said Sloan in a statement. "We have robust programs to educate affected team members about other employment opportunities within Wells Fargo and to assist them in their career transition. And even if we become more efficient, Wells Fargo will remain one of the largest employers in the United States. "

According to Michael Moebs, CEO of Moebs Services, a research firm for the financial services sector, downsizing will not have much impact on the bank's bottom line. "

"The wickets will be a huge discount, but their salaries are significantly lower than the compensation that will have to be paid to IT employees (Internet technology), now and in the future," Moebs added. "Overall, Wells Fargo's move is good for facing the competition of financial technology companies."

Brian Riley, director of credit counseling at Mercator Advisory Group, said Wells Fargo's growing focus on digital banking was "a natural move," with the bank reconfiguring its business for the future.

TO CLOSE

This time for his 401k practices.
Time

"When you look at retail banking, you can handle a lot of things without going in. You do not even have to deposit a check," Riley said. "Managing a bank is a lot of money, and Wells has 6,000 branches, while JPMorgan Chase has 5,200 and Bank of America 4,500."

The planned downsizing comes as Wells Fargo attempts to regain customer and investor confidence following the scandal over some 3.5 million bank accounts and other financial products that could have been opened without the client's authorization.

The Bank was sentenced to $ 185 million in civil penalties in September 2016, according to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Office of the Comptroller of Foreign Exchange and Los Angeles legal officials. Wells Fargo's retail policies and bank executives pushed employees to open as many customer accounts as possible.

The bank subsequently changed its compensation policies and ousted several senior executives.

However, Wells Fargo also faced additional regulatory measures and fines for its treatment of other financial programs that were detrimental to its customers.

In April, the bank agreed to pay $ 1 billion in civil penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for mortgage and automobile loan violations that forced customers to pay additional fees.

And in February, Wells Fargo agreed to a consent order with the Federal Reserve on what the central bank described as "abuse of consumption and non-compliance." The deal restricted Wells Fargo's growth, even though competitors expanded and demanded that the bank replace four of its members.