Job cuts disclosed this week by Wells Fargo & Co. bring to nearly 2,500 the number of production-related layoffs reported by the mammoth lender.
On Wednesday, Wells Fargo advised 1,900 team members that they would be laid off, according to a company spokesman.
The majority of the layoffs were interim positions added during the refinance frenzy.
Most of the positions were retail and wholesale fulfillment jobs and handled originations up to the closing.
“They were aware that … they were being brought on for a short period of time, and that their assignments would be ending at some point,” Wells Fargo spokesman Jason Menke stated.
The layoffs — which include 200 in Des Moines, Iowa, and 260 in North Carolina — are in addition to 587 mortgage-related layoffs disclosed during February.
Included in the 1,900 layoffs this week were 59 layoffs in Irvine, Calif. Part of the logic behind the 59 layoffs was a drop in refinance production, while a desire to improve loan processing efficiency was also a factor.
Some of the data entry functions handled at the Irvine wholesale center — which was a former Wachovia unit that doesn’t deal directly with borrowers or mortgage brokers — will be shifted to the Wells Fargo India services team, according to Menke.
