When people realize that a building won’t look the same in a few months, a certain kind of silence descends upon it. The atmosphere has most likely changed since April, when PNC Bank filed a WARN notice with the state confirming that 777 employees would be out of work by June 30. However, the former FirstBank headquarters at 12345 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood is still operational, with staff still pulling into the lot every morning. A deal that was publicly presented as a partnership and a merger of complementary strengths is now reaching the point that no one mentioned in the press release.
In September 2025, PNC paid $4.1 billion to acquire FirstBank, demonstrating the extent to which the Colorado institution had become ingrained throughout the Front Range. FirstBank had been in business in Lakewood for more than 60 years, long enough to feel less like a bank and more like furniture—the kind of financial presence that goes unnoticed because it’s always there. PNC used tactful and cordial language when announcing the deal. William Demchak, the CEO, discussed common values. Kevin Classen, CEO of FirstBank, described it as an exciting new chapter. For a while, that framing persisted.
The predictable math of widespread consolidation came after the regulatory close. PNC currently leads the market with a 20% retail deposit share in Denver. Its presence in Colorado has expanded overnight from about 35 to 120 branches. However, those benefits are not free; in this case, the price is measured in human lives. The 777 impacted workers are employed in administrative, technological, and back-of-house roles. Employees who interact with customers are being kept on, at least temporarily. That distinction is important, but the people on the other side of it are probably not very comforted by it.
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that there are fewer local anchors in the communities that are absorbing these layoffs than there once were. For its part, Colorado’s credit union industry isn’t downplaying the numbers. In order to find displaced FirstBank employees before too many of them fall through the cracks, the Go West Credit Union Association introduced an online job placement tool.
The program links resumes to hiring managers at credit unions throughout the state, some of which are currently hiring for IT, front-of-house, and back-of-house positions. This is what typically occurs when local banks are absorbed by out-of-state ones, according to Katie March, the association’s VP of Legislative Affairs. Even before the WARN notice arrived, the association was keeping an eye on the merger and getting ready for the consequences.
It is genuinely unclear if PNC will eventually integrate more local talent rather than reduce it. According to the company, it intends to finish customer conversion this summer, integrating FirstBank customers into PNC’s mobile infrastructure and national platform. It usually makes it clear who is and isn’t needed. In an effort to guarantee impacted workers have access to transition resources, the city of Lakewood has confirmed that it is currently in direct communication with PNC. When there isn’t much else to say, municipalities turn to that kind of language.
Large-scale mergers always appear cleaner from the announcement stage than from within the building where the jobs are being eliminated. There’s a feeling that the $4.1 billion figure, which has been positively mentioned in financial coverage, is somewhat disconnected from what it would be like for someone to update their resume in Lakewood this week. The deal may fulfill its strategic objectives. A nationally scaled bank with more sophisticated commercial capabilities might ultimately be a better fit for Denver. All of that could be true. It’s also possible that none of it matters to 777 individuals and their families.
