PNC Bank To Close 10 Branches In Pittsburgh Region

PNC Bank will close 10 more branches in the region within the next 90 days as part of an effort to cut costs and focus on serving customers who increasingly are banking online and via smartphones.

The closures, which include the last remaining bank branch in the city of Clairton, come on top of four other branches shuttered earlier in the year.

Spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel declined to say how many more branches in the region might be closed this year, saying decisions beyond 90 days may not be final.

Pittsburgh‘s biggest bank has said it planned to close about 200 branches this year across its footprint in 19 states and Washington, D.C., which is about 7 percent of its network of roughly 2,900 offices.  The bank closed 65 branches last year.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/pnc-bank-to-close-10-branches-in-region-687669/#ixzz2TQEP42Sq

Why The School District Of Lancaster Is Financially Thriving When Similar Districts In Pennsylvania Are Failing

Times are tough for urban school districts in central Pennsylvania.

Saddled with stagnant tax bases and serving large numbers of low-income and special-needs students, they’re struggling to stay afloat in the face of steep cuts in state and federal education funding.

But School District of Lancaster isn’t experiencing the economic woes of its neighbors.

The school districts in York city and Harrisburg have been declared “financially distressed” by the state, which appointed financial recovery committees to develop radical plans to keep them solvent.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/842996_Why-the-School-District-of-Lancaster-is-financially-thriving-when-similar-districts-in-Pennsylvania-are-failing.html#ixzz2RoBpQLeT

Kraft Foods Announces 1,600 Job Cuts

Kraft Foods plans to cut 1,600 positions from its North American division this year as it prepares to split into two companies, but no Lehigh Valley jobs will be lost, the packaged foods giant announced Tuesday.

Kraft said the cuts will not hit production facilities. The company has a 1-million-square-foot plant in Upper Macungie where it makes Grey Poupon mustard, A-1 Steak Sauce, T-Discs for the Tassimo hot beverage maker, natural cheese products.

The Northfield, Illinois company also has a distribution center in Bethlehem Township.

The company said no Lehigh Valley jobs are targeted in this round of cost-cutting. However, all facilities will be reviewed once the split is complete, it said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-allentown-kraft-cuts-20120117,0,1257961.story

BNY Mellon To Cut Workforce By Three Percent

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Bank of New York Mellon is cutting 1,500 jobs world-wide to reduce costs.  While the company is generating excellent revenue, expenses are up 20 percent over this time last year.  A hiring freeze is being implemented as well as a cut back on temps and contract workers.

BNY Mellon is a LARGE employer in the Pittsburgh region.  There are about 7,700 BNY Mellon employees, mostly in downtown Pittsburgh.  BNY Mellon has targeted Pittsburgh as a low-cost global growth center!  That means BNY Mellon will continue to move jobs to the Pittsburgh region.  This is excellent news for Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania!