Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, offered another round of buyouts to its employees on Wednesday, a spokesperson confirmed to HousingWire. The buyout follows two rounds in 2022, in April and August, which resulted in a workforce reduction of about 30% last year.
“Yesterday, we offered a voluntary career transition opportunity to several teams within the organization to better align resources with the needs of both our business and today’s mortgage market,” Mike Malloy, Chief Administrative Officer at Rocket Central, which provides the human resources services for all Rocket Companies, said in a statement.
Rocket is offering between 12 and 24 weeks of pay, depending on the employee’s tenure at the company, along with extended benefits. The lender is also providing compensation for banked personal time off and early vesting of certain stock awards. Former employees will have outplacement services, including one-on-one career coaching, resume building and job search assistance.
“The career transition plan is a way for us to be true to this mission, whether our team members build their career here or use our support to find that opportunity elsewhere,” Malloy said.
The company did not disclose the number of workers targeted through the buyout offers. The Detroit News first reported on the subject.
Amid elevated mortgage rates, Rocket Companies delivered a $111 million adjusted net income loss in the first quarter, following a $197 million loss in the fourth quarter. The GAAP net loss in Q1 was $411 million, a decline from 2022 Q4’s $493 million.
Rocket is expected to release its second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks.
The Detroit-headquartered lender has been cutting expenses and targeting purchase business, looking to hire local loan officers.
The firm ended 2022 with 18,500 employees, a 7,500 or 28.8% reduction compared to 2021, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show.
News of headcount reductions became public in April 2022, when the lender offered buyouts to 8% of its staff at Rocket Mortgage and Amrock Title. It targeted around 2,000 or so workers.
The company offered additional buyouts when the mortgage market deteriorated in the second half of 2022. The offers were made in August, and the company did not disclose further details on how many buyouts were taken.
In a recent interview with HousingWire, Bob Walters, CEO at Rocket Mortgage and president and COO at Rocket Companies, said that in the current business cycle, “If we’re not at or near a bottom, we’re getting close.”
“Capacity in our industry grew tremendously during the pandemic. That is coming out. It’s painful. And we’re even seeing an acceleration of companies that are either going under, consolidating, people exiting the industry. Things will continue to get better going into the future. So, it is still difficult.”
