The Winston-Salem Journal’s Richard Craver analyzes the effect Ken Thompson’s ouster from Wachovia could have on the local economy:
The reason for local nervousness about Thompson’s departure is that he made a commitment to keep a work force of 3,000 in Winston-Salem — the bank’s hometown before it was moved to Charlotte.
The merger cost about 1,300 local Wachovia jobs. But Wachovia has its wealth-management division, its Carolinas banking unit and segments of its information-technology operations here.
The bank sold its former headquarters, the Wachovia Center, to a real-estate investment trust for $39.6 million in September 2004. It is leasing space in the building.
Tony Plath, a finance professor at UNC Charlotte, said that Wachovia’s local operations could be vulnerable if the new chief executive aims to further consolidate the bank’s operations.
“After all, the new chief executive is under no obligation to keep the promises of the old chief executive,” Plath said.
