Countrywide Lays Off Another 900

Number-one U.S. mortgage originator Countrywide Financial is laying off another 900 employees as a result of decreased lending and increased defaults resulting from the worst U.S. housing slump in two decades. The cuts, representing approximately 1.5% of the company's total work force, come on top of 500 workers who were let go in August. The latest round of layoffs will come predominantly from Countrywide's mortgage production division. "Any further changes to the Countrywide organization will reflect our ongoing strategy to align our business to the marketplace," the company said. Its shares have fallen more than 55% YTD, including a loss of 5.1% Wednesday.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, TheStreet.com
Commentary: Countrywide to Cut Jobs -- WSJ • Why Countrywide is Done • Bank of America's Countrywide Investment: Time Will Tell

Stocks/ETFs to watch: CFC. Competitors: BAC, WFC. ETFs: KBE, KBW, PJB

Earnings call transcript: Countrywide Financial Q2 2007

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Comments

[Sr. Pessimist:]

News for workers: things will be bad short-term, good long-term.
News for capitalists: things will be good short-term, bad long-term.

The above is what naturally must happen anyway.

2007 Sep 06 12:35 PM