Sterling Bancorp to lay off about 200 as it wraps up Astoria buy

Sterling Bancorp plans to lay off about 200 Astoria Financial staffers on Long Island as it wraps up its purchase of the bank, Sterling confirmed on Thursday.

Montebello, New York-based Sterling is expected to close on its $2.2 billion all-stock acquisition of Astoria next week.

Sterling is laying off 95 staffers at Astoria’s Jericho office and another 91 at Astoria’s Lake Success location, according to a state regulatory filing.

Sterling wouldn’t say which jobs are being eliminated.

“As previously announced, the integration of the two companies is expected to generate approximately $100 million in annual cost savings,” Linda Dunbar, spokeswoman at Sterling, wrote in a statement. “Some of these savings will result from efficiencies in organizational design and staffing including the elimination of redundant positions or positions that no longer align with our strategy going forward.”

Dunbar added that about 230 full-time positions are being eliminated in total, including jobs at Sterling. All impacted individuals have been notified, she added.

The layoffs are planned by Dec. 29, according to the state WARN notice. Under New York’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, companies with at least 50 full-time employees must file a 90-day notice of a mass layoff or closing.

Sterling announced its planned acquisition of Astoria in March.

The combined bank will have about $29 billion in assets. Astoria’s branches are expected to be rebranded as Sterling National Bank next week.