NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp , which is set to complete its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc this year, has dismissed about 20 senior executives, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The bank, which has been grappling with slackening business due to the recession, cut senior staff as part of plans announced last week to shed 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over three years.
The bank's general counsel, Tim Mayopoulos, and the head of consumer banking on the West Coast, Brad Dinsmore, were among those dismissed, the WSJ reported.
Scott Silvestri, a spokesman for Bank of America, declined comment on the departures, noting the bank only announces personnel changes of its top people.
Financial companies have announced more than 250,000 job cuts this year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Bank of America shares were down along with other financial sector stocks on Monday. The bank's shares were at $13.93, down 6.7 percent or just over $1.
(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bernard Orr)
