by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Wells Fargo & Co., which bought Wachovia Corp. and is combining the operations, will eliminate 150 Jacksonville jobs when it closes a Southside customer service center March 31.
Kathy Harrison, corporate communications manager for the Florida region, said the employees at the customer contact center were notified Tuesday.
“This was a difficult decision,” she said.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo bought Wachovia more than two years ago.
Harrison said the employees can apply for other jobs at Wells Fargo, including 200 open positions in the area.
They also will be offered a job fair and separation benefits, including salary and insurance. Harrison declined to discuss those terms.
If the employees are hired at other Wells Fargo customer contact centers, the company will pay for relocation expenses.
The customer contact office operates in leased space at 10401 Deerwood Park Blvd., said Harrison. When the employees vacate the space, a team of the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Division will move in, she said.
Harrison said Wachovia/Wells Fargo employs about 2,400 people in Duval County and about 2,680 throughout the five counties of Northeast Florida.
The Wells Fargo name should go up on Wachovia properties by the summer.
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