Wachovia Securities to cut jobs in Va.
August 28, 2007: 06:56 PM EST

Aug. 28, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) --

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Wachovia (NYSE:WB) Corp.'s purchase of A.G. Edwards (NYSE:AGE) Inc. will cost Richmond about 2,000 jobs, a Wachovia spokesman said Tuesday.

Wachovia, based in Charlotte, N.C., announced in May that it planned to buy A.G. Edwards for $6.8 billion in a deal that will create the nation's second-largest retail brokerage behind Merrill Lynch. (NYSE:MER) (OOTC:MERIZ) Wachovia has said it plans to cut 4,100 jobs in the deal but has disclosed few details. Most of the jobs will go to St. Louis, home of A.G. Edwards and headquarters for the soon-to-be combined brokerage operation.

Richmond-based Wachovia Securities will give only a few hundred employees the opportunity to move, Wachovia spokesman Tony Mattera said.

'We've been saying since the outset of the merger that most home office positions would be based in St. Louis,' Mattera said.

About 2,000 of 2,600 positions at Wachovia Securities' headquarters are being lost or transferred. Mattera said about 100 brokers and 75 support staff members will stay in Richmond, along with 400 people in technology and operations.

All other functions -- including marketing, compliance, legal, communications and human resources -- will be in St. Louis.

Wachovia Securities employees received the official word Monday but won't know for several weeks when their jobs will end.

As part of the cuts, the company said it also plans to eliminate 250 positions in Charlotte, affecting workers in operations positions and a call center for the brokerage's financial advisers.

The jobs will be eliminated during an 18-month transition period, and some workers will be offered retention pay, Mattera said.

The deal between Wachovia and A.G. Edwards is expected to close in the fourth quarter.