Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim has threatened to pull $30 million of accounts from People’s United Bank. That’s after it was announced the bank would lay off 661 people from its regional headquarters in the city.
The announcement came from the bank’s buyer, M&T Bank, which said it would lay off 747 workers when the two banks merge this year. Economists said the layoffs would have major economic impacts on Bridgeport and the rest of the state.
In his statement, Ganim said, "The city has made a clear decision, through the Finance Department, to look for responsible corporate citizens to be custodians of over $50 million of public money as we withdraw that from People’s United and M&T Bank after they’ve demonstrated corporate irresponsibility and lack of transparency."
The bank said this week that all customer-facing branch workers would keep their jobs. Others laid off would get priority consideration for 1,500 job openings.