Bank of America announced it is closing the child care centers it provides for its employees around the country, including three centers in Delaware.
The company, in a letter sent late last week to employees, said it would close the centers operated by Bright Horizons in June "in order to focus on programs that are broadly accessible to employees." The move came as Bank of America announced it was planning to lay off 16,000 workers by the end of the year, accelerating the implementation of previously announced cost-cutting measures.
"The reason we did it was we thought it was a very nice benefit," said bank founder Charles M. Cawley.
Bank of America said in the letter that it will close its 10 day care centers around the country, including one in Wilmington and two in the Newark area. Less than 1 percent of its workforce or fewer than 2,750 employees nationally, use the centers. No information was available on how many families use the Delaware centers.
The move marks a departure from the style of MBNA America Bank, the Wilmington-based credit card company that Bank of America purchased in 2007. MBNA was noted for, among other things, its child care benefits, including on-site day care centers at some
"MBNA did things very differently than most credit card operations," said James L. Butkiewicz, professor and chair of the University of Delaware's economics department. Bank of America has moved to a more traditional model since acquiring MBNA, he said.
Bank of America has been cutting costs in many ways, including freezing pensions, shuttering 108 branches this year and announcing plans to cut at least 30,000 jobs. The company has already cut more than 3,000 employees since the first quarter of the year and has trimmed its workforce by more than 12,000 since the second quarter of 2011.
The cuts have been prompted by the continuing effects of a post-recession economy and tighter government regulation. The bank also was hurt by its takeover of Merrill Lynch, which was in worse financial shape than expected.
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