Bank of America CEO says company to slow hiring, predicts 'mild recession'

(The Hill) – Brian Moynihan, the head of Bank of America, said on Sunday that his company plans to slow down its hiring process and predicted that the U.S. would experience a mild recession later this year.

During an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Moynihan told moderator Margaret Brennan that one way to slow the hiring process is to rely on attrition, which means not backfilling positions of people who leave or retire voluntarily. He said that so far, BOA hired 700 people in May, compared to the 3,000 people that were hired at the same time last year.

“We're not making layoffs. We're trying to do it by attrition, but even the attrition slowed to half what it was last year. And when I talk to other companies, I get the same input.” Moynihan told Brennan. 

He predicted what he called a "mild recession" later this year and early into 2024 – which is notably timed during the highly-anticipated presidential election year.

“It's basically third quarter this year, fourth quarter, this year into first quarter, a mild recession. And unemployment gets up in high 4 percent range, still very low by historical norms,” Moynihan said. “And that's our core prediction.”

“So the Fed is getting the consumer spending level in line. And now you're, we have the jobs report and other things which sends some confusing and ambiguous messages, but the route is the, the activity of consumers more in line with what the Fed wanted because the rate increases and other aspects have had their effect,” Moynihan added. “Quantitative tightening’s had the effect.”