BofA to Hack Workforce 11%

Thought we might get through one day without another major company announcing a significant, economy-crippling number of layoffs? Wrong! After the bell, Charlotte, NC-based Bank of America, or BofA (BAC - Analyst Report) announced it will be taking the hacksaw to its employment numbers -- 30,000 to 35,000 jobs will be lost over the next 3 years to the soon-to-be-largest U.S. bank in terms of assets, once it has brought investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) into the fold.

Of course, a merger as massive as BofA's annexing of Merrill Lynch was bound to create many synergies and make lots of jobs expendable. Even still, in a week where companies such as Sony Corp. (SNE - Analyst Report) and Rio Tinto, Plc (RTP - Analyst Report) have announced are ridding themselves of many thousands of jobs, BofA's news takes the cake. Then again, it's still only Thursday.

Bank of America's earnings estimates have been precipitously revised downward over the past quarter, and the company's fiscal year 2008 EPS estimate is a very modest $1.45 per share. As it comes following a -81% earnings surprise in Bank of America's September quarter (Q3), analysts have every reason to keep downward pressure on BofA shares in the near term.