"A Long Line of Broken Promises" from Bank of America

October 8, 2004

This week, Congressman Capuano expressed disappointment with the announcement that Bank of America will lay off an additional 140 employees in Massachusetts. "This is just another in a long line of broken promises from Bank of America leadership," stated Rep. Mike Capuano.

Bank of America publicly committed to maintaining employment numbers in New England after its merger with FleetBoston. Although bank's management did state that 100 new jobs would move to Massachusetts with the relocation of the wealth management group, this latest announcement still leaves a net loss of 40 positions, just in the past month.

"In September, I sat across a table from Ken Lewis to try and get answers about the job situation in Massachusetts. He could have addressed this issue then, but chose not to. If this is how Bank of America intends to do business, then we should all be prepared for more cuts in the future. I am looking forward to questioning Mr. Lewis when he testifies at the Financial Services Committee hearing in Boston this December," said Rep. Capuano, who serves on the Committee.

"Although Bank of America officials claim that ultimately New England will suffer no net job losses, this does not help those who are losing their jobs, and does nothing to ease the minds of the thousands of bank employees who continue to face the possibility of more layoffs. Furthermore, Bank of America officials have yet to answer questions about how many part-time employees hired to replace full time workers will be eligible for health and retirement benefits", stated Congressman Capuano.

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Contact: Alison M. Mills (617) 621-6208