BofA pledged no layoffs in 2020, giving some employees a one-year reprieve. Visit the Business section of Insider for more storiesLast year, amid the uncertainty and chaos in the early days of the pandemic, Bank of America committed to avoiding layoffs for the year.
But now the reprieve is over. Headcount cuts are back on this year in BofA's Global Banking and Markets division and ongoing as of this week, according to sources familiar with the matter. At the height of the pandemic, most banks pledged not to cut staff. But even as rivals including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo resumed layoffs later on in the year, CEO Brian MoynihanEven as investment banking and trading operations posted blowout performances in 2020, institutions as a whole suffered steep profit declines as they built up billions in buffers against future loan losses tied to the pandemic's economic fallout.BofA saw 2020 profits fall 35% to $17.9 billion.