In a way, what Comerica Bank recently announced was probably inevitable, yet at the same time it was a side of mobile banking that many of us hoped wouldn’t emerge. Comerica announced plans to close and consolidate 38 bank branches, a move that would likely cost around 200 employees their jobs.
Almost half—16 branches total—of the consolidations were to take place in Michigan, Comerica’s home state, but there would be other branches set to be impacted as well. The closures start in November, reports note, and will continue through May 2017. Comerica notes that those who will be impacted by the cuts will have the choice of applying for other positions within the bank, or accepting an undefined severance package and getting some job search assistance.
Comerica expects the move to save the company between $10 and $13 million annually, and was done—at least in part—due to a changing market in which more and more customers are turning to mobile devices to handle everyday banking needs. This is reducing the importance of the bank branch, so rather than keep said branches open, Comerica moved to consolidate, allowing for at least some physical contact.
We know from several studies that mobile banking is increasingly popular with users, and with good reason. There’s no such thing as “bankers’ hours” when people can take a picture of a check to deposit it, or transfer money from one account to the other, and all from the same interface at any time of the day or night. The greater convenience, the universal functionality, and the augmented security are all great reasons to turn to a mobile device to bank. Yet with that comes a loss, a loss of a lot of jobs. As this development catches on, it may be that banks won’t have branches any more, or maybe only just one “headquarters branch” per bank. That’s a lot of tellers, loan officers, and maintenance staff that don’t have jobs any more, and if that catches on to any degree, it could be a serious problem.
Technological change often means cultural change, and we’re looking at some of that fallout right now. Mobile banking has a human cost, and hopefully, new jobs won’t be long waiting for these dedicated folks to step in and fill them.
