The pink slips flying in north suburban Riverwoods due to Capital One’s buyout of Discover Financial Services are a bracing reminder of the stake our regional economy has in a mergers-and-acquisitions battlefield that’s heating up.

Capital One, the credit card and banking company based in McLean, Virginia, filed notice with Illinois that it’s laying off nearly 400 people, including 200 at Discover’s former corporate headquarters in Riverwoods. That follows news in August of the elimination of 215 jobs in Riverwoods from Capital One’s decision to pull the plug on Discover’s home equity lending unit.

Between the two moves, about 8% of Discover’s Riverwoods workforce is going to be looking for work. We’re confident these won’t be Capital One’s last such head-count reductions as it strives t

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