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Truist Cuts 800 Jobs Following Merger, More Layoffs Expected

Photo courtesy of Truist.

Truist Bank has cut 800 jobs as a cost-saving measure. The cutbacks come in the wake of a merger between BB&T and SunTrust.

The job reductions began in the first quarter and were part of cost-cutting measures promised to investors in the wake of that merger. Truist hasn't specified where the cuts are taking place.

The News & Observer reports more layoffs are expected in the next few years, as hundreds of BB&T and Suntrust branches that overlap will be closed.

The two banks merged last year, and the corporate headquarters was moved from Winston-Salem to Charlotte. The combined institution is now the sixth-largest commercial bank in the nation.

The company says that beyond freeing up capital, the consolidation was driven in part by a desire to beef up the bank's technology to compete with larger rivals. 

Truist officials say that while the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted some long-term plans, they should be able to stick to their post-merger timeline.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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