Laid off from PNC.

Previous rounds

PNC layoff history

On the day PNC agreed to buy FirstBank for $4.1 billion, in September 2025, both banks said PNC would keep every branch and the customer-facing branch teams. FirstBank's chief executive, Kevin Classen, said the future of its corporate staff and office locations hadn't been settled. The deal closed on January 5, 2026. In April, PNC told Colorado's labor department that up to 777 people at its Lakewood corporate offices could lose their jobs after June 30, and a spokesperson tied the changes to a review of overlapping roles at the two banks, primarily in Colorado. Client-facing roles were kept. The cut fell on the side of the bank left open in September.

Losing a job in a merger's aftermath is miserable, and the severance record for this one sits in the deal documents. The merger agreement required PNC, for twelve months after closing, to give FirstBank employees who stayed on base pay no lower than before and severance no less favorable than the greater of FirstBank's plans and PNC's for similarly situated staff. FirstBank's side of that comparison sits in a confidential schedule, and employees get no right or remedy under the merger agreement itself, so your own separation agreement and the plan behind it are what set your terms. Every FirstBank employee with three months of service at closing was also eligible for a $5,000 bonus after three more months, and a termination without cause before then left that entitlement in place. In July PNC told Denver7 its offers were generally based on years of service and covered up to one year. If your separation came in that first year, ask in writing which plan your offer was measured against, and read it next to what's worth pushing on in a severance agreement.

The money shows up in the filings too, never broken out by type. PNC's 2025 annual report said it expected about $325 million in merger and integration costs, mostly in the first half of 2026. Its first-quarter report put FirstBank integration costs to date at $98 million pre-tax, by The Colorado Sun's account, and it incurred $127 million in the second quarter. None of those documents says how much was severance. PNC counted 55,333 employees at the end of 2025, before FirstBank's staff joined, and 61,545 in December 2022. FirstBank had 2,648 people at the end of 2024.

Before FirstBank came BBVA USA. Buying it, PNC told investors to expect more than $900 million in cost savings from operational and administrative efficiencies, then converted 9,000 BBVA USA employees in October 2021, and no job-cut count for that integration appears in the reporting we track. In October 2023, PNC committed to cutting about 4% of its workforce and expected about $150 million in charges, mostly cash severance and benefits. Banking Dive estimated that could mean more than 2,400 people, and reported cuts included corporate staff in Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Birmingham. One unverified employee account, relayed to American Banker, described a mandatory Webex call with everyone muted and no questions taken.

Our WARN filing tracker holds 9 filings across all years for PNC and the banks merged into it, and only one since the start of 2025, the 777-job Colorado notice. If you worked in Colorado, the state's labor standards division says earned vacation is wages that must be paid when a job ends, however it ends, and agreements that forfeit it are void, so match your final check against your accrued balance. For the state's unemployment rules, Colorado's unemployment page is the next stop.

Reporting on previous PNC layoff rounds

• 2026, FirstBank integration · Up to 777 jobs at FirstBank's former Lakewood headquarters, in PNC's April notice to Colorado, with client-facing roles kept and separations starting June 30.

  The merger agreement set severance for FirstBank staff who stayed past the January 5 close at no less than the greater of FirstBank's plans and PNC's, for a year. PNC told Denver7 offers were generally based on years of service and covered up to one year.

• 2023 · About 4% of the workforce, with affected employees informed beginning October 6, which Banking Dive estimated could mean more than 2,400 people against December 2022 headcount. Reported cuts reached corporate staff in Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Birmingham, after a limited July round in home equity and mortgage.

  PNC expected about $150 million in one-time charges, mostly cash severance, benefits and related termination costs. No individual terms appear in the reporting we track.

• 2021, BBVA USA integration · No job-cut count appears in the reporting we track. PNC converted 9,000 BBVA USA employees in October 2021, having told investors to expect more than $900 million in cost savings, 35% of BBVA USA's projected 2022 noninterest expense.

Your stock and equity

If you held FirstBank shares through its Savings and Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the merger agreement required FirstBank to end the ESOP the day before closing, with every account fully vested and each balance paid out or moved to an eligible retirement plan or IRA as the participant directs. The 401(k) after a layoff piece walks through rollovers if you haven't chosen yet. If you held PNC stock awards, check the award agreement you were given, since nothing in the reporting we track describes how PNC handled them.

What to do after being laid off from PNC

1. File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. PNC's biggest hubs: Colorado. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
2. Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what PNC's hub states run: Colorado, and every other state is here.
3. Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
4. Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
5. Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.