Layoffs Continue in California

The Golden State, which lost around 16,000 mortgage jobs last year according to a MortgageDaily.com analysis, has seen 992 mortgage layoffs so far this year, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification data filed with the state.

Option One Mortgage Corp., which let 620 employees go in December as it began winding down operations, reported to the state that 317 layoffs were planned for earlier this month in Irvine.

ResMAE Mortgage Corp., which halted new business in November, indicated it laid off 182 Brea employees in January. The layoffs followed 110 layoffs in September and 198 job cuts in May.

Following 220 job cuts in December, 250 layoffs in September and 440 job eliminations in May, Home Loan Center Inc.-LendingTree LLC advised the state 119 Irvine employees would be terminated.

Aurora Loan Services LLC, which recently said it would lay off 70 people in Florida, plans to eliminate 93 people in El Toro, according to the WARN data. The Lehman Brothers’ subsidiary said in January it was abandoning conforming and Alt-A third party originations — a move that was expected to result in 1,300 layoffs.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, laid off 73 people in Canoga Park earlier this month. The Calabasas, Calif.-based company warned in September that it planned to eliminate 12,000 jobs.

National City Mortgage reported that 50 San Diego employees would be laid off by the middle of next month. The Cleveland-based company eliminated 900 positions in December when it closed down its wholesale lending division. In August, National City folded its home equity unit into its mortgage subsidiary, reportedly resulting in 300 layoffs. In October, the company shut down its correspondent lending operations.

Secured Bankers Mortgage Co., which collapsed in December, advised the state 46 jobs would be eliminated earlier this month.

Capital One Financial Corp. subsidiary GreenPoint Mortgage, which was shut down in August, indicated about 43 Woodland Hills employees were terminated in January.

Wells Fargo Home & Consumer Finance Group eliminated 26 Carlsbad jobs last month, according to the report. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage cut 130 Iowa technology jobs in January and has laid off nearly 900 people since 2006.

First NLC Financial Services LLC, which is being liquidated through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, notified the state it was laying off 22 Anaheim employees in January.

E-LOAN Inc., which laid off 410 Pleasanton employees in January, plans to cut another 21 jobs by next week.

The report also indicated layoffs at other financial services companies that might involve mortgage positions included 46 jobs at Bank of the West; 142 layoffs at Bear Stearns; 50 layoffs at JPMorgan Chase; 381 positions with Washington Mutual; and 205 employees at Wells Fargo Bank N.A.