Painful Bank Layoffs Are Now Quietly Surging

October 19, 2023

Updated on September 11, 2026

Painful bank layoffs are now quietly surging as thousands of employees are continuously let go according to new reports.

Company filings show that so far in 2023, the top biggest 5 U.S. banks have cut a combined 20,000 positions.

“The largest American banks have been quietly laying off workers all year — and some of the deepest cuts are yet to come,” reports CNBC.

“Banks are cutting costs where they can because things are really uncertain next year,” Chris Marinac, research director at Janney Montgomery Scott.

“They need to find levers to keep earnings from falling further and to free up money for provisions as more loans go bad,” he said.

“By the time we roll into January, you’ll hear a lot of companies talking about this.”

Goldman Sachs has cut the most of its workforce at -5.4% compared to last year.

Wells Fargo has cut -4.7%, Morgan Stanley has cut -2.1%, and Bank of America has cut -1.9% of its workforce.

California continues to remain the #1 state with the most layoffs in the country, both in banking and retail.

In terms of retail, in second place is Colorado followed by Illinois, Washington, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, and Massachusetts.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PNC is also laying off more workers before the end of the year, though the amount has not yet been disclosed.

And Ally bank, which is headquartered in Utah, began cutting jobs Monday in an effort that will shrink headcount by less than 5%.

The U.S. bank is now preparing for massive layoffs which could affect more than 500 employees according to Bloomberg.

“After taking steps over the past year to pause hiring and manage staffing expenses through natural attrition, we have made the difficult choice to selectively reduce our workforce,” the company said.

Other US Bank News Today

A Wells Fargo customer is now unable to access her money after a Tennessee branch refused to serve her for not wearing a mask.

After the customer requested for $200,000 to be withdrawn from her account, she was advised that the bank did not have the cash available for such transaction.

What’s worrisome is that banks claim customers are FDIC insured up to $250K, but holdings may not be available same-day.

Coincidentally, the bank is currently fighting a lawsuit for freezing a customer account after the bank failed to hand over $204,000.

Ethan Parker alleged he was denied access to his money with “little to no explanation.”

“Wells Fargo says it did nothing wrong when freezing $204,000 in a customer’s account – even though it’s partially relenting to lawyers who claim otherwise,” reports TDH.

Despite objecting to the claims, Wells Fargo is backing down in part, and will soon hand a $204,000 check over to Parker, reports Triangle Business Journal.

As for the Tennessee resident who has gotten X users, formerly known as Twitter, fueled about the incident, no further update has been provided yet.

In August, Wells Fargo froze new deposits in what seems to be one of its most painful scandals, affecting customers nationwide.

Other US Bank News:

For the second time this year, Wells Fargo acknowledged that deposits were not showing up in customers’ accounts.

The disaster was overwhelming for many bank customers who had either recently been laid off or had fallen behind on all of their monthly expenses.

A Wells Fargo representative said the issue was affecting a “limited number of customers,” and that “the vast majority” of instances had been resolved before noon, while the “few remaining” would be resolved soon.

Also Read: Wells Fargo To Now Temporarily Close a Branch Until 2024