About One-Third Of BankAtlantic Workers To Lose Jobs

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) — About one-third of BankAtlantic's employees will lose their jobs as early as October.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports BB&T, which purchased BankAtlantic at the beginning of August, will lay off the 365 employees between October and Feb. 1.

The layoffs were announced by BB&T in a notification to the state on Wednesday.

BankAtlantic's headquarters in Fort Lauderdale will absorb the majority of the layoffs.

Mike Oster, BB&T's president for the Southeast Florida region, told the Sun-Sentinel the layoffs will mainly affect workers who perform back-office functions.

All staff affected will be given first dibs on jobs available with BB&T nationwide. And they will receive severance, outplacement services and other benefits, Oster said Wednesday.

Some will take positions at BB&T's home base, while others have been leaving in recent weeks for jobs elsewhere in South Florida, executives said.

BB&T will lay off workers in groups as they switch over BankAtlantic systems to BB&T systems and then, check that everything is running smoothly. "It's still a work in progress," said Oster.

BankAtlantic made  branches as BB&T outlets in the fourth quarter this year.

BankAtlantic had 78 branches in five southeast Florida counties at the time of the sale. BB&T had 68 of its own branches in those counties.

BB&T now is studying all those branches and deciding which ones overlap and which to close. Both BankAtlantic and BB&T branches will be shuttered in the merger, Oster said.

When the conversion is complete, about 40 employees will move over to BBX Capital, the successor company to BankAtlantic's parent company to be based in downtown Fort Lauderdale, managers said.

BB&T already has informed about 650 BankAtlantic employees that they will keep their jobs.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel contributed to this report.