Two Baltimore-area employers plan to lay off 156 workers starting this fall, a spokesman from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Tuesday.

Apex Tool Group, a hand and power tool company based in Sparks, notified the state labor department that it will shut down a plant in Hanover starting Oct. 11 and lay off 106 workers, said Bernie Kohn, the department spokesman. Apex, a joint venture of Danaher Corp. and Cooper Industries, had finalized the joint venture and new name last month. Company representatives were not immediately available Tuesday.

Bank of America notified state officials it will lay off 50 workers in Hunt Valley, part of a consolidation in the bank's credit claims unit, Kohn said.

The workers, who will be laid off as of Sept. 20, represent about 1 percent of the bank's workforce in Maryland, said Nicole Nastacie, a bank spokeswoman. The bank will continue to employ more than 1,000 associates in Hunt Valley, she said in an email. She said the bank is offering outplacement assistance to employees, some of whom could be hired by another business unit within the company.

"These changes are due to the continual evaluation of our business operations to ensure we are using our resources in the most efficient way possible," she said.