Capital One to lay off 163 in N.O.; none in B.R.

• Advocate Business staff report
• Published: Mar 20, 2008 - UPDATED: 2 p.m.

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Capital One Financial Corp. will eliminate 163 positions in New Orleans, or about 9 percent of its New Orleans staff, but the consolidation of support services won’t affect jobs in the Baton Rouge market.

The cuts target better efficiency and lower operating costs, the McLean, Va.-based retail banker and credit card company said. The layoffs involve support jobs in deposit services, bookkeeping, research and adjustments departments, Capital One spokesman Steven Thorpe said.

The company also will lay off 23 people in Shreveport and 11 in Houston, but no Baton Rouge offices will be affected, he said. Layoffs will begin in May and continue through mid-2009, said Thorpe, who said the changes have no connection to the subprime mortgage crisis. Capital One employs 1,825 people in greater New Orleans.

In November 2005, Capital One expanded its credit card and financial services business by entering the banking segment with the $5 billion cash-and-stock purchase of New Orleans-based Hibernia Corp. The two had struck the deal prior to Hurricane Katrina and Hibernia shareholders agreed to a 7.6 percent reduction in the purchase price after the storm.