Wells Fargo plans to cut hundreds of employees as the lender closes two locations in Oregon, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices filed Tuesday.
Wells Fargo will pull out of the namesake office building of William Barnhart Center in Hillsboro and the chief operating office of the global operations business unit in Salem, the lender notified city and state officials.
There are around 500 and 221 employees at the Hillsboro and Salem offices, respectively, who will be impacted, the WARN notice said.
“We continue to bring the majority of our non-customer facing positions together in locations best suited for our customers and our company,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson told Banking Dive via email. “This effort does not impact our commitment to serving customers and clients; Bank branches and Wells Fargo Advisors branches will continue to meet customers’ and clients’ needs for the best service and advice.”
Wells Fargo has been exiting some of its prominent real-estate locations recently. The lender reportedly wants to sell its San Francisco headquarters, which might be up for sale as early as this month, The Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Though the staff at both locations were notified of the business changes on Tuesday, the San Francisco-based lender expects the formal notices of displacement to go out to the affected employees in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Every staff member will be given a 60-day notice period from the day they receive formal notice of termination - those not relocating or securing internal positions will receive severance benefits proportional to years of service and continued health plan participation at active employee rates for a specified duration.
The lender noted that specific details on job titles, notice dates, and the number of displaced employees will be communicated after official written notices are issued.
“Impacted employees will receive severance, career assistance, and other services to assist them in this transition,” the spokesperson noted.
Wells Fargo has been shrinking its headcount for several quarters, including cutting 317 of its staff in the Des Moines area this year.
In October, Wells Fargo said its global operations business offices in Hillsboro, Portland and Salem are anticipated to shut down by the end of next year as it consolidates its operations elsewhere, according to The Oregonian.
The lender has culled around 400 employees in the last couple of years at its Hillsboro offices, according to the publication.
In a letter to its staff obtained by The Oregonian, Wells Fargo executive Michael Grossberg said the company plans to consolidate its global operations, reducing its presence from over 150 markets to fewer locations. The lender told its employees in February that it aims to unify its operations into 13 geographic locations centering around major cities, including San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, St. Louis, Charlotte, and New York, the publication reported.
