Bank shuts several Bay Area locations and chops more than 100 jobs

SAN JOSE — Heritage Bank of Commerce has decided to slash well over 100 Bay Area jobs in the wake of its agreement to be bought by another bank.

The bank intends to eliminate 121 jobs in the Bay Area and San Benito County, according to WARN notice information posted by the state Employment Development Department.

The layoffs are slated to take place on April 17, the Heritage Bank WARN information revealed.

The vast majority of the job cuts will occur at the Heritage Bank of Commerce corporate headquarters site at 224 Airport Parkway in North San Jose. The bank aims to eliminate 97 jobs at that site.

Heritage Bank intends to eliminate five jobs in San Mateo, four in both Walnut Creek and Danville, three in both San Rafael and San Francisco, and one job each in Oakland, Livermore, Los Altos, Morgan Hill and Hollister.

In December, Heritage Commerce Corp., owner of Heritage Bank, and CVB Financial, the San Bernardino County-based owner of Citizens Business Bank, announced an $811 million deal whereby Heritage would be merged into CVB Financial.

CVB Financial expects to complete its purchase of Heritage Commerce by the end of the April-through-June second quarter, the two banks stated.

Corporate mergers often trigger job losses due to the redundancies that typically emerge from the combinations.

The job cuts and the site closures were described as permanent, according to information posted by the state EDD.