Recent layoffs at Fannie Mae are likely to be completely offset by planned hirings in its servicing operations.
The Washington, D.C.-based company is realigning its organization, personnel and resources, a spokesman said in a statement. He was responding to a request for information from MortgageDaily.com about hundreds of layoffs that occurred at the secondary lender during the past four weeks.
Fannie is operating under the conservatorship of its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It was seized in September.
The spokesman explained that the realignment is being made to focus on the most critical priorities — including foreclosure prevention and aiding the economic recovery.
The realignment includes an increase in staffing to handle foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation. A Dallas operations center is among the locations to see increased staffing.
“Under our current plan, we anticipate that the total number of Fannie Mae employees will remain approximately the same in 2009 as in 2008,” the statement said.
Fannie employed 5,700 people as of Sept. 9, 2008.