CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bank of America has reduced its workforce by about 3,000 employees this year largely by leaving some positions unfilled when workers depart, as the bank increasingly uses artificial intelligence and other technology to improve productivity, according to eFinancialCareers.com.
CEO Brian Moynihan said during a conference appearance that Bank of America now employs about 210,000 people, down from approximately 213,000 at the beginning of the year, eFinancialCareers reported.
Rather than relying primarily on layoffs to reduce headcount, the bank has been replacing about 75% of employees who leave.
Moynihan said about 1,300 employees depart Bank of America each month, while the company hires approximately 1,000 replacements. That leaves roughly 300 positions each month that are not refilled, with the work absorbed elsewhere within the organization.
AI Helping Bank Absorb Work
Artificial intelligence is becoming an important part of that strategy, according to eFinancialCareers.
“In the end of day, our teammates have got to use AI to make our company better and make our clients a better experience,” Moynihan said.
Bank of America has implemented about 150 AI use cases and is expanding the technology into additional areas, including audit and legal operations, according to Moynihan.
The bank also employs about 18,000 software developers, and Moynihan said productivity improvements of 10% to 15% among those employees are allowing resources to be redeployed to other work.
The bank expects to double its AI expense budget next year, but Moynihan said proposed investments are subjected to detailed cost-benefit analysis.
“Each idea is costed out to the nth degree to say, I spend X, I get back Y and here’s the payback,” Moynihan said.
Attrition Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Bank of America’s ability to reduce headcount through normal turnover is affected by an employee attrition rate that remains considerably below its pre-pandemic level, eFinancialCareers reported.
Moynihan said the current attrition rate is between 8% and 8.5%. Before the pandemic, the rate exceeded 12%, according to eFinancialCareers.
Lower turnover means fewer opportunities for Bank of America to eliminate positions simply by declining to replace departing employees.
The bank previously resorted to direct job reductions when attrition remained low, according to the publication.
The latest figures indicate Bank of America is continuing to pursue expense and workforce efficiencies without widespread layoffs, using a combination of attrition, selective hiring and AI-driven productivity gains to accomplish more work with fewer employees.
