Firings Begin at Wells Fargo after Merger with First Interstate.(Originated from The Sacramento Bee, Calif.)

Apr. 2--Only hours after closing the nation's richest bank merger, Wells Fargo & Co. moved swiftly Monday to start slashing costs, notifying 1,750 workers that they are being fired.

The move comes as Wells Fargo begins the massive task of absorbing hundreds of offices and thousands of employees at Los Angeles-based First Interstate Bancorp covering 13 western states. The merger created the eighth largest bank in the United States with $116 billion in assets, 2,000 branches, including 1,300 in California, and 45,800 employees.

Wells Fargo expects to reduce the combined work force by 7,200 by the end of this year, the company said, through firings and attrition.

The company also said that about 1,000 jobs are available because of fourth-quarter …