CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Wells Fargo & Co. says it's slashing several hundred jobs in the Carolinas because of a decrease in home mortgage applications.

Bank spokesman Josh Dunn says most of the 310 positions will be eliminated at the bank's mortgage application center in Wilmington, N.C. The other cuts will come in offices in Raleigh and Fort Mill, S.C.

Dunn told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday that it was a hard decision to make. He said the bank would try to find other positions in the company for those who are losing their jobs.

Nationwide, Wells Fargo, which bought Charlotte-based Wachovia in 2008, has announced that it is cutting 1,900 positions.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has 281,000 employees in the United States. That includes 5,500 in South Carolina and 27,000 in North Carolina.

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