Is BofA Planning the "Mother of All Layoffs?"

(MoneyWatch)  Bank of America is planning what could be "The Mother of All Layoffs" as it swallows up Merrill Lynch & Co.

BofA says that it projects eliminating 30,000 to 35,000 positions over the next three years. It will have a more solid figure in the first quarter of 2009.

Venerable Wall Street investment house Merrill Lynch agreed to be bought by BofA after it was swamped by a sea of red ink following some ill-advised forays into sub prime housing mortages.

The tumble of other firms including Bear Stearns, American International Group, and Lehman Brothers brought layoffs on Wall Street alone to 110,000 in October with projections that could grow to 200,000 by year end.
So far this year, at least 1.9 million jobs in all sectors have been lost.

In the BofA case, the layoffs include both that bank and Merrill Lynch. A company press release says that BofA will try to make as many cuts through attrition as possible.