Bank of America shifting real estate employees to outside firms

Bank of America is shifting employees in its corporate real estate group to two outside firms, as part of a move to cut costs and improve efficiency, the Charlotte bank said Wednesday.

The majority of the group’s employees will be offered positions at national real estate firms JLL and CBRE, which will be managing the bank’s buildings worldwide, bank spokeswoman Jennifer Darwin said.

A “couple of hundred” employees globally, including in Charlotte, will be affected by the move, Darwin said. A small number of real estate staff will remain at Bank of America to manage relationships with CBRE and JLL, formerly known as Jones Lang LaSalle.

If employees are not offered positions at the two firms, Bank of America will help them find other opportunities, Darwin said. She declined to comment on whether layoffs could result from the shift, which is expected to be completed by Sept. 1.

Bank of America has said it employs about 15,000 in Charlotte.

The Observer reported Tuesday that Bank of America is dropping Charlotte-based Lincoln Harris as the property manager for its buildings in the Southeast, including its uptown headquarters. The move means Chicago-based JLL and Los Angeles-based CBRE will now manage the bank’s buildings in the U.S. and globally, with JLL adding work in the Southeast.

This story was originally published May 13, 2015 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Bank of America shifting real estate employees to outside firms."