An upstate N.Y. bank sees silver lining in IBM cloud. (First Inter-Bancorp Inc.)

When a giant employer announces job cuts, alarms usually go off at the local banks.

But Robert N. Chambers, chairman of Fishkill, N.Y.-based First Inter-Bancorp, says he is taking planned layoffs at International Business Machines Corp. in stride.

Ultimately, Mr. Chambers suggests, the cuts by the dominant local employer could help attract new businesses and create a more diversified economy.

|Window of Opportunity'

"Job losses at IBM are worrisome, but the situation presents a window of opportunity," said Mr. Chambers, whose $529 million-asset company is the parent of Mid-Hudson Savings Bank.

IBM has announced that it will …