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The Wachovia Corp. child care center in north Charlotte plans to lay off its entire staff, a few months after learning Wells Fargo & Co. would eliminate a tuition subsidy.
About 130 employees work at the center, which is currently open to only Wachovia families. Massachusetts-based Bright Horizons Family Solutions, which manages the center, plans to open to the community and hopes to rehire many of the workers.
The transition is just another change that Wachovia workers will have to get used to as Wells continues to absorb their employer. In August, Wells said it would eliminate an income-based tuition subsidy for employees who use the Leslee Lloyd Child Development Center, a benefit that had been popular in legacy Wachovia.
In a letter last week to state and local officials, a Bright Horizons manager said the loss of the tuition subsidy “will cause a decrease in enrollment and resulting decline in staffing for Bright Horizons.” To handle the falling enrollment, the center “will transition from a client based center to a community based Bright Horizons center.”
Layoffs will be effective Dec. 31, but Bright Horizons hopes to find positions for many of the employees in the new, community-based center, said Bright Horizons spokeswoman Ilene Serpa.
The interest from non-Wachovia parents who will now have access to the center, as well as the number of Wachovia families who have indicated that they're staying, “will enable us to offer teaching opportunities to dozens of the center's dedicated and talented teachers,” Serpa said. The company has also found jobs for some employees at other Bright Horizons centers in the area, she added.
“We will be working with all teachers to help them find jobs in early education and to ensure they have all the support we can provide them during this time,” she said.
Wells Fargo said this summer that the decision to eliminate the tuition subsidy was difficult, but designed to create consistency across Wells Fargo locations. Wells has also eliminated some other benefits that Wachovia had provided, including a program that gave employees time off to care for sick family members.
