Fulton Bank is cutting 111 jobs to eliminate redundant roles following the acquisition of the failed Republic First Bank this year, a bank spokesperson said.
The Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based lender plans to redesign some of the dropped roles into new ones and retain some staff whose roles have been cut.
“With the recent Republic Bank transaction, we brought in more than 300 team members, many with redundant roles to our existing corporate staff. As is typical with transactions of this nature, we eliminated redundant roles,” Steve Trapnell, a Fulton spokesperson, told Banking Dive via email Friday. “Some eliminated positions are being repurposed into wholly new positions, and we are hopeful to retain some team members whose positions are being eliminated.”
The cuts – to workers based in the lender’s Mount Laurel, New Jersey, location – will take effect between Nov. 11 and Dec. 27, according to a notice filed with the state’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
The roughly $30 billion-asset bank has reconstructed its credit and commercial teams as part of the FultonFirst transformation, which led to further layoffs, Trapnell said, noting that Fulton has more than 3,500 employees.
Fulton’s board decided in July to shutter 13 branches and consolidate those operations into nearby locations. Those branches will close on or around Nov. 22, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Following the branch closings, parent company Fulton Financial Corp. expects to reduce annual pre-tax operating costs by roughly $8 million, beginning in the first quarter of next year, and incur around $1 million in future expenses related to employee severance, the filing said.
Fulton agreed to purchase all of the assets and deposits of the beleaguered Philadelphia lender Republic First in April. That came after the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities closed Republic First and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as its receiver.
The closure ended more than two years of infighting within Republic First, and the acquisition helped Fulton enter New York state and double its Philadelphia presence.
Additionally, Fulton is set to welcome a new CFO next week. Rick Kraemer, Valley Bank’s one-time treasurer and deputy chief financial officer, will join Fulton on Tuesday and take on CFO responsibilities from next quarter.
“Fulton Bank remains a strong, stable organization committed to the customers and communities it serves,” Trapnell said.
