Wells Fargo plans 4,500 mortgage layoffs

The nation’s largest mortgage lender is laying off 4,500 retail mortgage employees. According to blog the Truth About Mortgage, Wells Fargo notified the staffers during the first quarter that their jobs were in jeopardy. By the end of the quarter, 2,000 of those individuals were still employed by the bank, but were slated to be eliminated during the second quarter. Wells Fargo went on a hiring spree when interest rates plummeted to record lows, anticipating a surge in refinancing. But activity has since slowed, with applications for Wells Fargo home loans falling to $102 billion last quarter, from $158 billion during the fourth quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, the company still saw record earnings during that time period, posting $3.8 billion in profits in the first quarter, up 10 percent from the previous quarter and 48 percent from the first quarter of 2010. [The Truth About Mortgage]