PROVIDENCE – HarborOne Bank will lay off 10% of its 450-person workforce in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to a news release.
The decision to lay off 43 employees across Massachusetts and Rhode Island branches comes as the bank prepares to open new Boston-area branches this fall, the release stated. The layoffs were also prompted by the continued drop in demand for in-person branch services in favor of online and mobile banking, James Blake, HarborOne Bank CEO, said in a statement.
“As consumer adoption for online and mobile banking continues to grow, our branch teams will be realigned with the expansion of the relationship banker and universal banker roles,” Blake said. “This enhanced delivery model positions our branch teams as customer advisers serving more-complex sales and service needs, as our digital delivery tools drive more convenience for customers’ everyday banking.”
The number of Rhode Island workers included in the layoffs was not available.
HarborOne, which is a subsidiary of HarborOne Bancorp Inc., has 25 full-service branches across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as dedicated commercial lending offices in Providence and Boston. The bank has the 10th-largest share of deposits in Rhode Island as of 2019, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Nancy Lavin is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
