FleetBoston fired 750 in capital markets downsizing

BOSTON (Bloomberg) — FleetBoston Financial Corp., the seventh-largest U.S. bank,
fired 750 employees this year as it scales down its investment bank and discount
brokerage to reflect declining financial markets, a regulatory filing said. FleetBoston,
which owns discount broker Quick & Reilly and investment banker Robertson
Stephens Inc., said 270 of the affected employees left the company during the
first quarter. The other 480, most of whom have been notified, are expected to
leave by June 30, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Slumping capital markets drove first quarter-profit down 6.1 percent at New England’s
biggest bank. Stock sales by technology companies dried up and retail brokerage
volumes fell, forcing the company to take a $50 million after-tax restructuring
charge in the quarter.