Photograph by Robert Scheer
First Interstate Bank on Saratoga Avenue will be merged into a nearby Wells Fargo branch.
By Julie Mehta
While the Wells Fargo bank in Saratoga Village has survived the fallout from Wells Fargo & Company's recent takeover of First Interstate Bancorp, the nearby First Interstate branch at 1502 Saratoga Ave. in San Jose, will cease to exist. On July 27, it will be consolidated into the Wells Fargo branch located a short distance away at 1730 Saratoga, near Westgate Mall.
Even though they know their branch is slated for closure, the waiting game isn't over for the First Interstate's employees. Wells Fargo spokeswoman Janet Otsuki said employees will be informed by May 15 if they will be let go.
In the meantime, Wells Fargo is evaluating the Westgate branch's needs and conducting interviews. Employees who are to be laid off will receive their official notice from Sept. 1 through the end of the year, giving them time to prepare. Those who find themselves with pink slips can avail themselves of resume assistance and retraining opportunities at six career-transition centers the company has set up around the state, the nearest in San Francisco. Otsuki said laid-off workers will receive a severance package of four weeks of pay and benefits for every year served.
Otsuki said it is likely some, but not all, of the local First Interstate branch's employees will lose their jobs. Wells Fargo would not release the number of employees at the branch, many of whom work part-time.
A total of 259 branches will be closed throughout the state. Otsuki said Wells Fargo sought to consolidate branches within a mile of each other. Not all the axed locations were First Interstate branches; the total includes 87 Wells Fargo branches. The company considered the size, location, lighting, electronic capability, and parking configurations of each facility in making the final decision, Otsuki said.
Bank customers should receive letters within the next two weeks letting them know what to expect after the merger. First Interstate accounts will be automatically transferred to Wells Fargo Bank, Otsuki said. She said it is unlikely that fees will go up, and there may be more types of checking accounts available.
Its chief goal is to expand access to banking services and to that end, Wells Fargo plans to add more supermarket locations. Currently, about a third of its California locations are at supermarkets. Some are 24-hour ATM kiosks that Otsuki said are staffed with someone 40 hours a week to help people operate the machine, open an account, or take out a loan. Others are mini- branches complete with tellers.
"It's more convenient," said Otsuki. "If you're shopping at 6:30 in the evening, an in-store branch will likely be open till 7, while a traditional one would be closed at 6. And it's in a highly trafficked area, so there's an extra comfort level."
Even with the branch closures, the new Wells Fargo will be the eighth largest bank in the country, with nearly 2,000 locations in 13 Western states. Wells Fargo's takeover of First Interstate, announced in January, cost the company $11.6 billion, making it the biggest bank merger in U.S. history.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, May 1, 1996.
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