Watching Weather A Full-time Job 
Whether Teaching 
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Forecaster, Jon Nese 
Can't Get Enough 
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Arcade Fire Ruled Suspicious By Police

Saturday, January 31, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





152 losing jobs at Franklin First &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Employees await the bad news via the mailBy JEAN LACOE, JUAN TORRES and
CECE TODD &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Times Leader Staff Writers &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Employees of Franklin First Savings Bank will be watching their mailboxes
this weekend to see whether they still have jobs after the March 31 merger
with New &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 York-based M&amp;T BankFor 152 of the bank's 393 employees, the letters sent
Thursday will not bear good news. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gary Paul, an executive of First Empire State Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., the
parent company of M&amp;T Bank, said Friday the majority of people losing their
jobs are in administrative and office support positions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I do know that the departures go from quite high in the organization down
through clerical levels," Paul said. He was not able to elaborate further. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Right now, you know more than I do," said Janet Stansbury, Franklin First
vice president of residential lending. "I haven't received the letter yet. I'm
aware it's coming but I truly do not have any information. It would be a lot
of rumor and supposition (to comment) at this time." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All of the remaining 241 retail and customer service staff have been
offered jobs, Paul said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm hearing rumors but I'm waiting for something in black and white," said
Paul Ochman, a mortgage loan officer at Franklin First. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In his position, he is likely to remain employed after the merger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That's nice to hear, but like I said, I'm still waiting to be notified,"
Ochman said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked what he thought of being notified by mail, Ochman said, "Nobody
really wants to say anything that would jeopardize anything in their future." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The merger between ONBANCorp, the parent company of Franklin First, and
First Empire was announced in October. Employees were informed last week of
the pending layoffs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The company is asking most employees to stay until the merger's completion
and 36 others to stay three to four months beyond March 31. Those 36 employees
will receive retention bonuses if they choose to stay, but all will lose their
jobs within the next five months. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Those who were asked to stay were deemed crucial on an interim basis but
not in positions that would ultimately be permitted to stay," Paul said.
"We're also hopeful that by giving this amount of lead time many people will
indeed find permanent employment by the time the merger takes place." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 More than 225 jobs with M&amp;T Bank, mostly in Buffalo, have been posted to
allow Franklin First employees an opportunity to apply for the jobs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We do not underestimate the impact made on employees whose jobs are
eliminated. As you can see, we are making every effort to make employment
opportunities and severance payments," Paul said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Each employee gets severance pay for between four and 26 weeks, based on
time of service with Franklin. They can also retain their benefits throughout
the severance pay period. Career placement assistance will be provided next
month. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Locally, it appears employees have only a slim chance of gaining employment
with one of the other major banks in the area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're certainly not in an expansion-type mode right now, but we could
always have openings through attrition," said Linda Kimsal, vice president of
public relations for PNC Bank, northeast Pennsylvania region. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In the banking industry, things change, and with mergers, there is always
the possibility of a loss of jobs, " Kimsal said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We continue to evaluate staffing within our network and would consider
(laid-off Franklin First employees) for open positions if they desire," said
Helen Mazzitelli, assistant vice president of sales and administration for
Mellon Bank. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The banking industry has been an industry in transition and these sorts of
things have been happening all over the country," said Stephen Barrouk,
president and chief executive officer of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of
Business and Industry. "It's very unfortunate. Wilkes-Barre has been hit
particularly hard with these mergers."

152 Losing Jobs At Franklin First 
Employees Await The Bad News Via The Mailby Jean Lacoe, Juan Torres And Cece
Todd 
Times Leader Staff Writers 
Employees Of Franklin First Savings Bank Will Be Watching Their Mailboxes This 
Weekend To See Whether They Still Have Jobs After The March 31 Merger With New 
York-based M&t Bank.