May 25--The owner of BMO Harris Bank is cutting costs in a restructuring that's leading to layoffs, including in the Chicago area, as fewer transactions are done in branches and more on mobile phones.
Canadian banking company BMO Financial Group on Wednesday said that it is working to "accelerate the use of technology to enhance customer experience" and become more efficient. The restructuring resulted in a $132 million after-tax charge against its second-quarter earnings.
Canada's fourth biggest bank will cut 4 percent of its total workforce as part of the cost-cutting measures, Reuters reported, citing a company memo.
In the Chicago area, BMO Harris Bank has about 6,000 workers. BMO Harris Bank spokesman Patrick O'Herlihy declined to say how many local employees would lose their jobs or what types of positions they hold.
In a call with analysts Wednesday afternoon, BMO executives noted that the number of BMO bank branches in the short term would be "relatively stable to slightly down." The number of teller transactions in bank branches are down significantly, while mobile banking is up, the bank said.
Both net income and earnings per share were down 3 percent in the second quarter.
In the United States, BMO Financial had 14,443 full-time workers in the second quarter, down from 14,730 in the same period a year ago.
BMO had 594 U.S. bank branches in the second quarter. That's virtually flat with its branch count a year ago, but down from 617 in 2014.
byerak@tribpub.com
