Wells Fargo & Co. is laying off 101 employees in its Charlotte, North Carolina-area mortgage operation, part of a nationwide cut affecting 638 employees, the company said Thursday.
In the Charlotte region, five of the layoffs are in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and the rest are in Charlotte, the bank said, citing a slowdown in its mortgage business. It’s the latest example of Wells Fargo cutting mortgage jobs in Charlotte and elsewhere.
“After carefully evaluating market conditions and customer needs, we are reducing staff in a number of business units around the company to better align with origination and servicing volume in the current environment,” spokesman Josh Dunn said in a statement. “The decision to reduce our workforce is made with great concern for our team members.”
Nationwide, banks have been dealing with declines in foreclosures and origination volumes as mortgage rates have risen. Tight supplies of homes for sale have also hurt nationwide demand to buy houses.
Thursday’s cuts come after Wells in June said it was laying off 100 employees in its Fort Mill mortgage operation.
Other mortgage lenders have made similar cuts in recent years amid higher mortgage rates and declines in foreclosures.
Wells Fargo, which is based in San Francisco, employs more people in Charlotte than any of its other employment hubs. The Charlotte figure is 25,100, Dunn said.
Affected employees are eligible to receive pay and benefits through Oct. 21, he said.
The bank is committed to retaining the employees, and where possible it will work to identify other opportunities within the bank, Dunn said.
