People’s United Bank, which has locations in five New England states and New York, is cutting 420 positions.

Bridgeport, Conn.-based People’s United Financial, parent company of People’s United Bank, announced last week that it has cut nearly 10 percent of its workforce.

The company will eliminate 420 positions throughout the Northeast. At the end of the first quarter of 2008, People’s United had 4,985 employees.

It was unclear at press time how the cuts would affect Massachusetts or how many employees the company has in the state.

The cuts announced Thursday will result in an estimated $57 million decrease in annualized company expenses, excluding severance costs, the company said.

The company eliminated 150 vacant positions and expects to eliminate 100 more through attrition. The bank notified 170 employees Wednesday that their positions were eliminated.

The company also will consolidate approximately 20 of its 300 branches, beginning in the third quarter of this year.

The head count reduction comes on the heels of the company’s board of directors approving an $800,000 base salary and various incentives for President and Chief Executive Officer Philip R. Sherringham, who was appointed to that position Feb. 6. The incentives are based on both long-term and short-term goals, though the goals themselves had not yet been established by the board at the time of the Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The long-term goals, spread out from 2008 to 2010, offer incentives worth up to 55 percent of his base salary, according to the filing. The short-term goals, focused on 2008, offer incentives up to 90 percent of his base salary.

People’s United Financial has $21 billion in assets, with locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. The bank acquired the Chittenden family of banks in January, and is the largest regional banking organization based in New England, according to the bank’s Web site.