| Wells Fargo & Co. will eliminate more than 60 jobs at its Frederick, Maryland, office, in a move the company is attributing to fewer properties being in default or foreclosure.
The company’s office at 8480 Stagecoach Circle in Frederick will lose 63 employees, part of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s servicing and account management division, spokeswoman Christina Carmichael said in an email Tuesday. The timing of the layoffs is unclear. The Stagecoach Circle office will continue to house other Wells Fargo businesses after that date, Carmichael said. She said they’re looking to identify jobs in other areas of the company for the workers wherever possible. “The reduction in our Wells Fargo Home Mortgage workforce is due to fewer customers being in default or foreclosure,” Carmichael wrote. “As such we have a reduced inventory of vacant properties to manage, the volume of work in these functions has declined overall and we are realigning those teams to reflect the current activity.” Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is one of Frederick County’s largest employers. According to the county’s Office of Economic Development, the company has about 1,700 employees in the county. The Frederick decision comes as Wells Fargo has announced layoffs in other areas of the U.S. and other branches of its business. In March, the company announced plans to lay off nearly 600 workers in North Carolina as part of changes to its auto lending operations, according to the Charlotte Observer. And according to the mortgage industry journal Mortgage Professional American, the company recently announced layoffs in North Carolina, South Carolina and Minnesota, in addition to the Frederick announcement. Shane Larson, legislative director for the Communications Workers of America, questioned the company’s motives behind the layoffs. As the labor union has watched Wells Fargo operate over the past few years, the company has moved a lot of its mortgage processing, loan processing, and similar jobs overseas, Larson said. Larson acknowledged that CWA didn’t know if the Frederick decision was a result of jobs being moved offshore, and that Wells Fargo employees aren’t members of CWA. But the group has been working with some of the company’s employees as part of the Committee for Better Banks. That committee seeks to give financial sector workers a way to highlight issues they’re concerned about, Larson said. Offshoring jobs puts pressure on other companies to send jobs overseas as well, including employers whose workers CWA does represent, he said. Asked about CWA’s concerns, Carmichael reiterated that the jobs being eliminated have been a crucial part of the company’s success. “We will do everything we can to make them aware of other job opportunities within Wells Fargo, or support them as they transition to the next phase of their careers,” she said. |
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