The financial services giant attributed the layoffs to the weak economy and its pending merger with Merrill Lynch & Co.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said that it has not completed its analysis and expects to announce a final number of job cuts early next year.

The job reductions, which are coming from both companies, are expected to affect all lines of business and staff units, the company said in a statement.

The reductions are designed to “eliminate redundancies” created as a result of the merger with Merrill Lynch and to reflect the “current recessionary environment,” according to the statement.

The company plans to make “as many reductions as possible” through attrition, adding that severance and other benefits will be provided for those workers whose jobs are eliminated and who cannot be offered another position.

On September 16, Bank of America agreed to purchase New York-based Merrill, the ailing brokerage giant, for $50 billion.

Last week, shareholders of Merrill and Bank of America voted to approve the sale, ending the brokerage firm's 94 years of independence.

Filed by Aaron Siegel of Investment News, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

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