Merrill Lynch merger to cost thousands of IT staff

Technology workers expected to go as Bank of America seeks $7bn in savings

Merrill Lynch staff in Wall Street and elsewhere are at risk

Thousands of technology and operations staff at investment bank Merrill Lynch could lose their jobs as new owner Bank of America seeks to reap $7bn (£4.08bn) in savings from the firms' merger.

"We have not mapped it out in terms of actual number of people, but we are committed to saving $7bn across the combined platforms, and that will be a challenge," Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain told Bloomberg. "Between our two companies, it will clearly be thousands of jobs."

It is believed that the cull will take place mainly in IT, operations and finance, and that areas such as fixed income and commodities will be unaffected.

Following Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, rumours were rife that Merrill Lynch, which has already slashed more than 5,000 of its 60,000-strong workforce, could also be vulnerable as it awaits shareholder clearance for the takeover by Bank of America.