It didn’t take long for Charles Schwab to start making wholesale changes after taking back control of his firm last week.
Charles Schwab and Co. announced Thursday that it will close 53 of its branches—16 percent of its total—over the next four weeks. The company anticipates it will account for 186 layoffs.
In a statement, a company spokesperson said, “We are closing branches in markets where we feel we have oversaturation, or where there is less need or demand for our services.” Schwab representatives were not available for further comment.
The announcement came just a week after Schwab fired former CEO David Pottruck and took over the company he founded himself. The firm has struggled in recent years with its discount-brokerage business, and it has been trying to transition to an advisory-based business, headed by its Schwab Institutional division.
