After announcing plans to cut 747 workers in Connecticut after completing its pending acquisition of Bridgeport-based People’s United Bank, M&T Bank on Monday said it will retain almost all customer-facing employees and give priority to laid off staff members in filling some open positions.
Officials with the Buffalo-based lender said they will keep on “substantially all” People’s United branch employees, seeming to indicate that the bank’s corporate offices will bear the brunt of anticipated restructuring. M&T also noted that it has around 1,500 open positions and will give former People’s United workers priority in hiring for those roles, with the option to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule.
All employees who are ultimately let go will receive severance benefits, including career transition assistance, according to M&T.
“In any merger, there are always difficult steps to take as you finalize workforce needs for the combined organization,” said People’s United President Jeffrey Tengel. “M&T has taken a thoughtful and empathetic view on every one of these decisions, assessing talent at the individual level to lessen impact. We will continue to do everything we can to support employees, both affected and unaffected, throughout this transition.”
M&T and People’s United provided advance notice of the job cuts to the state Department of Labor last week. The companies said they expect to lay off 661 people in Bridgeport and several dozen in Hartford, with smaller staff reductions taking place at offices in Enfield, East Windsor, Farmington, South Windsor, Southington and Stamford, among other locations.
The news came as something of a surprise, as the two banks had previously indicated that layoffs would not be a significant feature of their linkup.
M&T first announced plans to acquire People’s United Bank in February, in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.6 billion. The boards of directors of both firms have signed off on the deal, and the would-be partners are currently awaiting approvals from regulators.
