BMO plans to eliminate 44 jobs at its downtown Milwaukee office due to “changing business needs,” according to a notice filed with the state Department of Workforce Development.
The cuts will take place as of Dec. 31 at the bank’s 790 N. Water Street location. That address is the location of the BMO Tower, which includes both a bank branch and business offices. The notice did not specify which positions would be included in the layoffs or whether they were branch or corporate employees.
Earlier this year, BMO announced said it was cutting its workforce by 2.5% of its FTEs. Darryl White, CEO of BMO, described the cuts on the company’s earnings call as incremental to efforts connected to its integration with Bank of the West, which BMO acquired in early 2023.
“We're undertaking these changes to enable us to accelerate our efficiency initiatives and align investment with customer and market opportunities,” White said on the earnings call.
The notice sent to DWD did not specify if the layoffs in Milwaukee were connected to the cuts announced earlier this year or the result of other changing business needs.
In response to an email seeking additional details on the layoffs, a BMO spokesperson provided the following statement:
"We are focused on managing expenses dynamically, growing revenue and improving our relative efficiency ratio; which includes aligning our resources to achieve these priorities," the statement said. "We recognize that this is a challenging time for our colleagues whose roles have been impacted and are actively working with them to find other opportunities where possible."
