Wells Fargo moving 120 Phila jobs to N. Carolina

Wells Fargo & Co. has told 120 workers at its Philadelphia legal order processing unit, in the Plaza office building at 5th and Market Sts. (on Independence Mall), that the company is moving their work to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2015, according to people familiar with the move. Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco (corrected); Charlotte was home of one of its predecessor banks, Wachovia (First Union).

Spokesman Jim Baum confirmed to me that the unit, which responds to IRS, state and federal government, and private lawyer requests for bank customer records, is leaving town; he said the workers can apply for other Wells Fargo jobs; some who leave will be given separation packages.

Wells Fargo and its predecessors, Wachovia and First Union, have operated the Philadelphia region's dominant branch banking network since First Union bought the former Philadelphia National Bank in 1998 and began shutting down many of its headquarters functions or moving them out of the region to save money.