Wells Fargo to sell San Francisco HQ to favour US East Coast – WSJ

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Discussions with potential buyers have already begun, and one spokesperson for Wells Fargo told WSJ that this decision was based on the continual need to ensure “we are best meeting the needs of employees and customers, responding to consumer and economic trends, and managing our costs responsibly.”

The move is expected to take around a year, and operations will move from California to New York or Charlotte in North Carolina. While CEO Charlie Scharf, is in New York, where he is leading the bank’s investment banking business and branches in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, Charlotte remains the base for Wells Fargo’s largest base of employees since the bank acquired Wachovia in 2008.

The bank also mentioned that they have operated in San Francisco since the 1850s and that “the city remains important to the bank.” Wells Fargo has roughly 23,000 employees in California, making up 10% of its workforce.