US bank cuts branch staff in digital push

Bloomberg

US Bancorp is eliminating thousands of branch workers as it adjusts to changing customer preferences, according to a person briefed on the decision.
The cuts will be in the low thousands, the person said, asking not to be identified because the number isn’t public.
In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Chief Executive Officer Andy Cecere said US Bancorp “made the difficult decision to eliminate their jobs because customer behaviors have changed.”
The total represents less than 2% of the bank’s workforce, according to spokeswoman Molly Snyder. The company had 74,000 workers as of October 16.
Reductions are being made across the firm. Some job categories, including teller coordinator and assistant branch manager, are being eliminated or will have headcount greatly reduced. None of US Bank’s roughly 3,700 branches will be closed as part of the moves, according to Snyder, who confirmed the contents of Cecere’s memo and declined to comment on the number of cuts.
The Minneapolis-based firm will also create some new customer-focused positions and launch a training programme so existing employees can widen their skill sets, the memo said.
Snyder said the firm will begin hiring client-relationship consultants and business-banking development consultants among other new roles to work in the branches.
Banks have for years been reassessing the role of branches in their strategies as customers increasingly handle their finances online. US Bancorp has said it plans to lean heavily on digital offerings and enter new markets with a “branch-light concept.”