Mortgage Job Losses Surpass 40,000

[Herman Munster]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070822/mortgage_mess_jobs.html?.v=13

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- At the North Carolina offices of mortgage lender HomeBanc Corp., Archie Clark is the only employee left. But in a few days, he'll be gone, too. When Clark finishes helping movers from the company's Atlanta headquarters collect computers and other property, he'll join the more than 25,000 workers nationwide who have lost jobs in the financial services industry since the beginning of the month -- with more than half coming since last Friday.

With few exceptions, the cuts are the direct result of woes in the nation's housing market.

More layoffs are announced daily. On Wednesday, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. closed its "subprime" mortgage business, laying off 1,200 workers at 23 offices; Scottsdale, Ariz.-based 1st National Bank Holding Co. closed its wholesale mortgage unit and cut 541 jobs, and Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. added 1,600 positions to the heap. The night before, banking giant HSBC said it would close a main financing office and cut 600 jobs.

Since the start of the year, more than 40,000 workers have lost their jobs at mortgage lending institutions, according to recent company layoff announcements and data complied by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Meanwhile, construction companies have announced nearly 20,000 job cuts this year, while the National Association of Realtors expects membership rolls to decline this year for the first time in a decade.

[SoCalDem]

1. Well.. maybe there's a walmart opening near them..

During the boom, I know people who made BIG money processing all that paper..They left jobs that were steady, so they could cash in... I guess they thought it would last forever:eyes:

[spag68]

2. I don't really feel sorry for them

Many of these company's work in a gray area of mortgages and take advantage of people. Let them now feel the pain others have felt. On the other hand I hope things get back to a place where people can own homes again. Elect Dems.