Fed May Cut Jobs as Fewer Checks Written

The Federal Reserve may eliminate jobs in the check-clearing and processing operations of its 12 regional banks as electronic payments reduce the number of checks consumers and businesses write.

Presidents of all 12 regional Fed banks recently sent letters to employees saying that check volume was dropping because of electronic payments and consolidation in the financial-services industry. About 5,200, or 22%, of the 23,550 employees at the regional Fed banks help process checks.

Cost reductions and probable consolidation of some Fed operations “are likely to result in the downsizing of staff,” Dallas Fed bank President Robert McTeer wrote this month.

The Federal Reserve handles about 40% of the checks cleared in the U.S. An estimated 42.5 billion checks were written in 2000, down from 49.5 billion in 1995. Recent figures are not available, a Fed spokesman said.