PNC to cut 5,800 jobs, most from National City-WEB ONLY

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said yesterday it plans to cut 5,800 jobs by 2011 – including 4,000 at Cleveland-based National City Corp., which it bought late last year.

The Pittsburgh bank completed its acquisition of National City on Dec. 31. National City has 75 branches and 1,200 employees in the Indianapolis area, ranking it the second largest bank in the city, according to IBJ statistics.

How many local employees will be affected by the downsizing is unclear. Bank officials declined to provide specifics.

“PNC expects to report quarterly on its progress toward the 5,800 goal,” spokesman Fred Solomon said today. “That report will not break down cuts either by location or business line.”

The company expects the cuts to help save $1.2 billion annually. It will start converting National City branches into PNC branches in the second quarter this year.

Costs tied to the National City purchase led PNC to post a fourth-quarter loss of $248 million, or 77 cents a share, compared with profit of $178 million, or 52 cents, in the same period a year earlier. The loss was PNC’s first since 2001.

National City, which ranked among the top 10 subprime lenders in 2006, sold for $4.6 billion in October after it accumulated $4.3 billion in losses.

Since PNC does not have central Indiana branches, banking experts said at the time that it is likely the bank will retain National City branches and employees here.

Before the deal was announced, National City said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs over the next three years; it didn’t disclose where those cuts would occur.