Capital One eliminating 180 B.R. sales jobs

Capital One is cutting about 180 jobs in Baton Rouge, as the credit card giant shifts its telephone sales and loan processing operations to offices in Texas and Maryland. The company says it plans to eliminate about 70% of the jobs locally by mid-July, with the remaining workers to go in November. Steven Thorpe, a spokesman for Capital One in New Orleans, says the bank decided to consolidate the jobs as part of a review of business operations. “This is a difficult decision that was not taken lightly,” he says. Most of the affected employees work at the bank’s Industriplex office, although some work in the main downtown location. The employees, who work in Capital One’s small business telephone sales and servicing and its consumer sales, underwriting and loan processing operations, will have a chance to apply for other jobs with the company, and are eligible for retraining assistance. Capital One has about 830 employees in the Capital Region and 28 branches.—Timothy Boone