BMO Harris Bank plans to close six of its Wisconsin locations, including three in the Milwaukee area, on June 29.
The affected branches are at 9719 S. Franklin Drive in Franklin, 101 Falls Road in Grafton, 1590 Harris Drive in Port Washington, 171 Main St. in Belgium, 100 N. Main St. in Westby and 31 Meadow View Drive in Lake Delton.
The closures are due to very low customer volume and are not related to BMO’s recent acquisition of Milwaukee-based Marshall and Ilsley Corp., the parent company of M&I Bank, said Jim Kappel, vice president and head of media relations at BMO Harris Bank.
“We continually assess all of our operations to determine how well they are performing, which includes how well our branches are being utilized,” he said.
The company considers the effect a branch closing has on customers and the community and makes a transition plan to minimize the impact, Kappel said.
“We are notifying our customers and employees three months in advance of the closures to ensure they have a good amount of time to help in the transition to a new branch,” he said.
Most employees will likely be placed in other positions within the company, but some jobs will be eliminated.
“These are decisions we do not take lightly as we understand these changes will result in the loss of positions for some employees,” Kappel said. “However, we have been very successful in placing employees in other positions across the bank when we have closed branches. The last time we closed a small group of branches, more than 80 percent of affected employees found new positions within the bank.”
