FEBRUARY 1, 2024 — CLOSING 29 BRANCHES
Fifth Third Bank plans to close 29 branches this year across its Midwest and Southeast footprint. Fifth Third currently operates about 1,100 branches in 11 states.
CEO Tim Spence noted, “Increasingly we’re taking locations that were well-placed 30 or 40 years ago but aren’t in the primary traffic flow today and consolidating them into new locations. Other branches are being closed to offset costs associated with new branches opening in high-growth markets.”
OCTOBER 23, 2020 — COST CUTTING AND LAYOFFS CONTINUE
The bank’s Chairman, CEO, and President, Greg Carmichael, noted in the latest Q3 (2020) report…
“Given the anticipated revenue headwinds, we are very focused on optimizing our expense base to maintain healthy levels of returns. To that end, we took proactive measures during the quarter to ensure Fifth Third continues to generate sustainable, long-term value for shareholders. We continue to believe we are well-positioned to emerge from the pandemic as a top performing regional bank."
Fifth Third Bancorp is continuing with cost reduction plans that target at least a $200 million cost reduction by Q2 (2021).
Areas targeted for cost reduction include reductions in employee headcounts, elimination of vendor contracts, branch closings and a reduction in corporate office space, including entire offices. Of course, the bank mentions “technology changes and process improvements involving automation” which directly impacts headcount.
APRIL 2, 2019 — 493 TARGETED FOR MAY LAYOFFS.
The bank continues its integration plan by laying off 493 in May 2019. Most of those laid off will be back-office and support personnel, most of which will The bulk of the job cuts will take place in Rosemont, Illinois with about 24 located at MB’s former corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
MARCH 28, 2019 — LAYOFFS BEGIN.
Fifth Third Bancorp is pursuing its integration plan with MB Financial and will be permanently closing MB’s Ann Arbor, Michigan office and laying off 87 back-office and supervisory employees. The layoffs are expected to start May 13, 2019 and continue through September 29, 2019
Original Post…
The oddly-named Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp has laid off an unspecified number of employees within its regional coverage. It appears that the personnel realignment is a routine part of the banks 2016 Project North Star long-term profit improvement plan that is based on both productivity improvements and cost reductions.
Bank spokesperson, Larry Magnesen, said, “We look at staffing on an ongoing basis. We align our staffing levels with market demand and the operating environment. At any given time, there are areas of expansion where we are investing, usually to address our customers’ evolving needs. In other areas, our needs are lower, sometimes due to productivity improvements. Clearly, staffing adjustments increase efficiency. That is a priority of the bank in order to invest in the capabilities we need to remain highly competitive in a rapidly evolving industry. Fifth Third is able to hold down the size of its layoffs by making regular adjustments to staff size and limiting staff additions in areas it might need to cut.”
Following the Republican Tax Plan, the bank adopted a $15 minimum wage for approximately 3,000 hourly workers and paid out $1000 bonuses to approximately 13,500 workers. It is unknown what effect that this may have had on ongoing operational costs or if the bank is simply cutting duplicate positions in preparation for the acquisition of Chicago's MB Financial in a $4.7 billion merger.
It is expected that there will be many more layoffs during the integration phase of MB Financial.
By the way, the odd name comes from a 1908 merger between predecessor financial institutions, Third National Bank and Fifth National Bank.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?