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First Horizon National Corp., the parent company of First Tennessee bank, announced Wednesday that it will consolidate its Blount Operations and reduce its local staff from 98 to 41 employees.

The company said consolidating most of the operations at the First OPS East center in Maryville into its First OPS center in Memphis is part of its ongoing efforts to improve efficiency at First Horizon.

The consolidation is expected to be completed by March 2008. First Horizon said no customer impact is anticipated as a result of the consolidation.

“This was not an easy decision, and we did not make it lightly,” said Jim Blasingame, manager of bank operations for First Horizon.

“We firmly believe that we can best serve our employees, customers and communities by remaining independent and reward our shareholders by being a more efficient, profitable organization.”

The company previously said it will cut expenses by $175 million and indicated this move is part of those initiatives.

All of the impacted Maryville operations employees will have the opportunity to transfer to Memphis. Those who choose not to relocate will be provided with severance pay, retention bonuses and the opportunity to apply for other jobs within the company.

The 41 positions not impacted by the consolidation will continue to capture the East Tennessee market’s branch, lockbox, and correspondent bank transactions and transmit them to Memphis for processing.

In April, First Tennessee announced it would eliminate 176 jobs in Maryville, Memphis, Dallas and Louisville, Ky., and move those roles to an outsourcing firm in India.

In July, the company announced more than 30 additional layoffs in Maryville through office consolidations.

First Horizon employs more than 11,000 people and provides financial services to individuals and business customers through hundreds of offices located in more than 40 states.

The company’s First Tennessee bank brand has the largest consumer and business market share in Tennessee according to the company. Outside Tennessee, the bank operates under the brand First Horizon Bank.

The corporation’s three major brands — FTN Financial, First Horizon and First Tennessee — provide customers with products and services including capital markets, one of the nation’s top underwriters of U.S. government agency securities, and mortgage banking, one of the nation’s top mortgage originators and recipient of consecutive awards for servicing excellence from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

First Horizon companies have been recognized as some of the nation’s best employers by AARP, Working Mother and Fortune magazines. The company also was named one of the nation’s 100 best corporate citizens by CRO magazine.