Bank of America hired thousands last year after a decade of cuts

Bank of America’s headcount grew in 2019 for only the second year since 2010, as the size of the bank’s employee base appears to be leveling off after years of cuts.

The Charlotte-based bank added 3,600 employees in 2019, bank spokesman Mark Pipitone confirmed Friday. CEO Brian Moynihan announced the year-end data in a memo earlier in the day.

Its total headcount now sits at about 208,000 companywide, with 16,000 based in Charlotte. Bloomberg News earlier reported the figures.

Bank of America has gradually drawn down its employee base since the 2008 financial crisis, shaving nearly 100,000 workers from a post-crisis high of 288,000 in 2010. The banking industry as a whole has shed hundreds of thousands of jobs since the financial crisis as more banking functions move online.

In that time, Bank of America’s total deposits have risen from about $1 trillion in 2010 to about $1.4 trillion in 2018, according to SEC filings.

Employees who dodged the axe in that time have benefited, securing occasional bonuses and consistent minimum wage increases (the company’s wage floor will hit $20 per hour in the first quarter of this year).

Moynihan also announced that the bank hired 6,300 employees from low- or moderate-income neighborhoods last year, and that the firm reached its five-year goal to hire 10,000 veterans.