Mortgage fintechs Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach reduced employee headcount by at least 20 this month as the industry struggles to stay afloat amid mortgage lenders rightsizing during one of the most challenging times.
Workforce reduction came on October 20, and eliminated positions include director of marketing, two enterprise account managers, one enterprise sales manager, content marketing manager, senior enterprise sales manager, head of talent acquisition, product designer, project manager and software engineers, according to a list of employees who were laid off, which was reviewed by HousingWire.
Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach declined to comment on the size and reason for the layoffs.
Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach merged in June in an undisclosed deal, six months after private equity firm LLR Partners invested $80 million in both firms. Following the merger, the company said it had a total of 144 employees and has no plans of conducting layoffs. Since the merger, the company has operated as distinct brands on opposite coasts.
Former employees interviewed by HousingWire stated that market conditions were the reason for the layoffs, and for some, the elimination of certain positions came as a surprise.
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“I was told that after looking at their finances, the company decided to eliminate some positions,” a former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
“We’ve been told there would be no layoffs,” another affected employee, who requested anonymity, said. “My department was told within the last 30 days not to worry.”
A senior-level employee, citing a shared document, said 19 additional employees in the sales and IT department were under consideration for layoffs, but were not let go.
Founded in 2009 and based in California, Mortgage Coach provides an interactive borrower education platform that lets loan officers guide borrowers through a visual presentation of their loan options. Established in 2017 and headquartered in Maryland, Sales Boomerang monitors customer databases on behalf of lenders to identify when a customer is ready for a new loan.
As mortgage lenders rightsize in a rising rate environment, a number of mortgage tech companies have moved forward with layoffs in order to cut costs, including California-based mortgage tech firm Blend Labs. Blend cut about 200 employees in two rounds of layoffs this year, which accounted for about 25% of its workforce.
After reporting a $478.4 million loss in the second quarter of 2022, Blend said it will review its cost structure with vendors to save $6 million quarterly and offshore some of its staff.