Fed branch in San Antonio cutting most staff

The Federal Reserve plans to eliminate most of its workforce at its San Antonio branch by the end of this year as part of a previously announced restructuring.

The branch will shed 71 of 84 positions as the result of it outsourcing its cash department
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The cuts will start June 24.

There are no plans to close the branch.

All departments of the branch are impacted by the reductions except for public affairs and research, the latter headed by senior economist Keith Phillips. Blake Hastings, vice president in charge of the branch, will remain. Assistant Vice President Karen Diaz is retiring, said Alexander Johnson, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Hastings wasn't available for comment Monday.

The branch has served as the Fed's cash distribution and processing facility for the Central and South Texas market. It will become a cash depot, with a private company deploying currency to the financial institutions served by the branch. The decision to transfer the work was made last year after a yearlong study.

Some of the workers issued pink slips will retire, while others will be able to transfer to other Fed offices, Johnson said. Severance packages will be offered to those who don't transfer.

In addition to Diaz, the affected employees are 28 law enforcement personnel, 26 workers in cash services, 14 in building and management services, and two human resources personnel, according to a letter Hastings sent to the Texas Workforce Commission last week.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas opened the San Antonio branch in 1927. It has operated at 126 E. Nueva St. since 1956, when it employed 145 people, according to its website.

Johnson said the Fed could not discuss its plans for the 90,000-square-foot building.

The State Bar of Texas has leased 6,075 square feet in the branch since 2005, Bar spokeswoman Kim Davey said. It's a regional office for its chief disciplinary counsel. Seventeen people work in the office.