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The nation’s third-largest wholesale mortgage lender, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Homepoint, is laying off hundreds of workers across the organization in a move to cut costs by more than $100 million a year in response to an “extremely challenging” lending environment.
In reporting a $44.1 million second-quarter loss on Aug. 11, parent company Home Point Financial Corp. said it had originated $21.8 billion in mortgages in the first half of the year — less than half of the $54.9 billion in loans funded during the same period of 2021 when low rates spurred a boom in refinancing.
While the company said it had reduced expenses in its originations department by 17 percent from the first quarter, it warned that it was preparing to implement additional cost-cutting measures.
Those additional measures include layoffs that will number in “the hundreds,” a company spokesperson confirmed to Inman Friday.
“We are in the process of taking the painful step of reducing our workforce to ensure Homepoint is best positioned to navigate the current high-rate, low-margin environment,” the company said in a statement. “It is difficult to say goodbye to associates whose dedication to our partners and customers have greatly contributed to our company’s success in our first seven years of business.”
Rising mortgage rates have prompted several mortgage lenders to lay off workers in response to a decline in demand for loans, particularly refinancing.
A spokesperson said affected workers were given 60-day notification that their jobs were being cut and that they will continue to be on the payroll until November.
Some Homepoint employees who were told…