Business briefs for August 18, 2004

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.

B of A cutting jobs at newly acquired bank

BOSTON -- Bank of America Corp. plans to lay off hundreds of tellers and other branch employees at Fleet banks today, asking them to leave the building immediately as part of the process, according to documents obtained by The Boston Globe and Fleet branch managers told of the decision.

The layoffs will affect nearly every city and town in which Fleet does business as the North Carolina bank continues to absorb Boston-based FleetBoston Financial Corp. The cuts come as Bank of America plans to convert Fleet's 1,500 branches to its own model, which in many cases uses fewer full-time staff members per branch, the Fleet workers said.

In addition to the layoffs, Bank of America plans to move some employees around from branch to branch and reduce some staff members' hours. In all, about 1,500 employees may be affected.

Airline to name pension trustee

CHICAGO -- UAL Corp.'s United Airlines agreed to appoint an independent trustee to protect the interests of participants and beneficiaries of the carrier's pension plans, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday.

The trustee, to be chosen by the company with the department's approval, will review funding, assert claims and file lawsuits if necessary on behalf of the plans, the department said in a statement. The trustee must be in place before Sept. 15, when a $400 million payment is due, the department said.

UAL, the world's second-largest airline company, plans to skip about $575 million in pension contributions this year and an unspecified amount next year to conserve cash to exit bankruptcy.