Bank of America might lay off up to 30,000 people in the coming years, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer.

That means it could cut over 10% of its 288,000 employees worldwide, making BofA the bank with the most brutal layoff plans we've heard yet, second only to HSBC's plans to layoff 30,000 of its 300,000 strong workforce.

Sources familiar with the firm announced the mass layoffs soon after the FHFA filed a huge lawsuit against Bank of America over $30.85 billion in losses on mortgage securities.*

The unfinalized plans are to cut over 10,000 and up to 30,000 employees in the next few years.

The reason for them is simple.

The massive cuts are partly to make up for what are expected to be huge lawsuit-related losses over the firm's and Countrywide's role in the mortgage crisis. Bank of America bought Countrywide, the country's largest mortgage lender, in 2008.

Also, it needs to downsize anyway. JPMorgan is more profitable and has around 38,000 fewer employees.

This is just one of many of Bank of America's efforts to cut costs and shore up capital in advance of the 2013 capital requirements mandated by Basel III.

*(BofA isn't alone. The FHFA announced similar lawsuits against nearly every one of the U.S. bulge bracket banks, all of which are named here.)

Wall Street layoffs to hit en masse this fall >