BofA Reportedly Pauses Hiring Ahead of Recession

Bank of America is reportedly freezing most hiring as it prepares for a possible recession.

That’s according to a report Wednesday (Jan. 18) by Bloomberg News, citing people with knowledge of the matter, who say the bank will take a break from hiring until at least the middle of the year or the economy picks up again.

PYMNTS has contacted Bank of America for comment but has not yet received a reply.

Some jobs will continue to be filled in parts of the business where revenue has grown, such as business banking, wealth management and trading, as well as tech positions, the Bloomberg report said.

Last year, the bank said it would boost its tech spending after seeing a record number of consumers logging into digital channels during the month of July and its second quarter. More recently, the bank reported results showing that digital “sales” made through the company’s online channels had risen 22% year over year and now account for almost half that activity.

However, Bank of America (BofA) also says it anticipates a mild recession, echoing sentiments by other banking giants last week.

As PYMNTS reported earlier this week, concerns about a recession are at top of mind for the world’s CEOs, as they expect this year to offer little economic growth.

That’s according to a recent survey by the nonprofit think tank The Conference Board, which found that recession concerns were the main external worry for chief executive officers and other C-suite executives.

The survey “also found that most executives don’t think stronger economic growth will return anytime soon,” the organization said in a news release. “Fifty-one percent of CEOs worldwide — and 60% of U.S. CEOs — expect a tepid year ahead, with their economies only picking back up by late 2023 or mid-2024.”

The Conference Board said its own base forecast does not add up to a global recession, but it did forecast some of the lowest economic growth in more than 20 years, setting aside the recession years of 2020 and 2008.

The report showed that recession fears have intensified since last year’s survey, which put a possible recession among executives’ sixth biggest concern, the nonprofit think tank said

News of BofA’s hiring freeze comes 10 days after reports that another big bank, Goldman Sachs, planned to eliminate 3,200 jobs, its largest round of staffing cuts ever.

The Bloomberg report noted that Bank of America has given no indications it would resort to layoffs, with its headcount rising to 216,823 at the end of 2022, up from 208,248 in 2021.