Wells Fargo CEO sees job cuts after Wachovia deal: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf, whose company acquired Wachovia Corp, said on Wednesday that minimizing job losses will be a priority but added that some cuts would begin this year.

Stumpf told the Charlotte Observer newspaper that he does not know how many jobs will be lost in the merger and did not provide a specific timeframe for the start of layoffs.

He said the San Francisco-based bank has already taken steps such as a freezing new hiring and posting jobs internally.

"I can tell you there will be duplicative jobs and there will be job loss, I know that," Stumpf said in the interview published on the North Carolina newspaper's website. "How many that will be I do not know."

Stumpf said some cuts would begin this year, while others could take longer because of the gradual integration of the two companies.

Wells Fargo employs more than 20,000 workers in Charlotte, the former headquarters of Wachovia, which Wells bought on December 31 in a deal valued at $12.7 billion.