TD Banknorth trims jobs on eve of buyout

TD Banknorth is closing branches in Trumbull and Westport, as well as two others in Connecticut and 20 more in the Northeast.
TD Banknorth entered the Fairfield County market via its $1.9 billion acquisition in 2006 of Hudson United Bancorp, which was based in Mahwah, N.J.
New Jersey took the brunt of the closures, with 13 branches slated to be eliminated. TD Banknorth is closing three locations in New York and two each in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
TD Banknorth has roughly $4 billion in deposits in Connecticut, behind Massachusetts at $8.4 billion and New Hampshire at $4.2 billion.
TD Banknorth will cut 400 jobs in the consolidation, which is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter. The cuts equate to 5 percent of the company”™s work force. The company expects to pay between $6.4 million and $9.7 million in severance.
Additional cuts could be in the offing, Bharat Masrani, TD Banknorth”™s chief executive officer, indicated in an interview with the Globe & Mail.
As of June 30, 2006, TD Banknorth had $626 million in 19 Fairfield County branches, down from the $772 million Hudson United reported in 2005.
TD Banknorth spokesman Jeff Nathanson said the company is largely eliminating branches in towns where it has multiple locations, including some supermarket branches. The company will also shutter branches in Waterbury and New Britain. TD Banknorth has three remaining branches in Westport and one in Trumbull.
The company is based in Portland, Maine. Majority owner TD Bank Financial Group is in the process of taking TD Banknorth private by purchasing its remaining shares, with stockholders to vote on the action April 18. 
TDBanknorth had $339 million in profits last year, with its $1.52 earnings per share its lowest since at least 2001.