As a result of its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. and a faltering economy "affecting the level of business activity", Bank of America Corp. (BofA) plans the largest layoffs ever - the bank will eliminate 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over the next three years. Combining two big firms, like BofA and Merrill, often involves eliminating duplicate jobs, as both have significant overlap in areas like research and investment banking.

BofA has already laid off 11,150 employees, while Merrill has cut 5,720.

In a statement, BofA said it has not completed its analysis and expects to have a final number in early 2009. Nonetheless, a cut of such a large number of positions would amount to more than 11 percent of the combined firms' global work force of 308,000. The firm said many of the jobs will be lost through attrition, and would cut across all lines of its businesses and staff units.

The bank said: "The reductions are designed to eliminate redundancies created as a result of the merger with Merrill Lynch and to reflect the current recessionary environment."

With its acquisition of Merrill, BofA - whose stock has fallen 64 percent this year - created a colossus of both corporate and consumer finance. However, the firm, like its peers, has taken billions of dollars from the government to confront a recession that poses serious threats to many of its businesses.

Analysts are worried that with banks already reeling from losses tied to credit card debt, auto loans and commercial real estate mortgages, more consumers will struggle to stay current on the debts they incurred in more profitable times.