Bank of America on Tuesday announced plans to cut as many as 4,000 positions before the end of June even after it reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations.

The job cuts represent 2 per cent of BofA’s overall workforce, which topped 217,000 at the end of the first quarter after the lender had ramped up hiring as the job market heated up during the pandemic era. The bank’s headcount had grown 4 per cent in the year to the end of March, based on data it released as part of its earnings announcement.

BofA said it had already slashed more than 1,000 positions in the first two weeks of April and planned to eliminate an additional 3,000 jobs by the end of the quarter. The bank said the cuts would reflect attrition, as well as targeted expense reductions.