Wells Fargo lays off 140 employees in its home lending division in Springfield
The nation's third-largest bank has laid off 140 employees in Springfield.
Wells Fargo & Co. notified the employees in its home lending division of the layoffs on Jan. 11, a spokeswoman with the bank in Houston said.
All of the employees were part of Wells Fargo's correspondent business, which purchases loans originated by other financial institutions, said Tymika Morrison, a communications consultant for the bank.
In an 'unprecedented position,' city geared to spend on public safety enhancements, equipment
"We have communicated openly and honestly with impacted employees and provided severance, career assistance and other services to assist them," Morrison said.
Most of the employees worked at the facility at 4800 West Wabash Avenue.
While Wells Fargo doesn't have branch banks in the Springfield area, there are other employees mostly in the consumer lending division, Morrison said.
The plans to exit the correspondent business have been in the works for several years, with an eye on creating a more focused home lending business aimed at serving bank customers, as well as individuals and families in minority communities, according to Wells Fargo.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity was apprised of the Springfield layoffs.
The layoffs, said Ryan McCrady, president & chief executive of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, will happen through the end of the third quarter of the year, Sept. 30.
"These things happen from time to time," McCrady said. "They're never pleasant when they happen, but the good news is that the affected individuals will be working closely with Sarah Graham and her team at the Illinois WorkNet Center. They're very skilled at helping those individuals find new places of employment.
"Financial services, professional services, back office duties are in high demand here, so I'm very optimistic they'll be able to re-employ."
McCrady said the decision had nothing to do with Springfield as a community.
"We're blessed to have very large businesses that are present here in Springfield," he said. "One of the things that come with that is that they're subject to national and global economic pressures that cause them to have to make decisions that may impact us locally, but it's not an indication or any sign they don't like Springfield. It's a corporate-wide decision that happened to impact Springfield."
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Wells Fargo has laid off 140 in Springfield home lending division
