Consumer direct lender Wyndham Capital Mortgage is doing a new round of layoffs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
The company said it will lay off 48 employees beginning on August 1. The staff either work in the lender headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, or remotely and report to the location.
“Of these impacted employees, 38 work out of the facility or hybrid (office & remote) in North Caroline & South Carolina, and 10 are fully remote employees living in other states outside of the Carolinas,” Angela Fumo, senior vice president of human capital, wrote in the WARN notification reviewed by HousingWire.
Founded in 2001 by Jeff Douglas, Wyndham positioned itself as a fintech-focused mortgage lender with a proprietary software system that allows the company to close loans 20% faster than the national average.
The lender originates loans in 47 states and Washington, D.C., both conventional and Ginnie Mae-backed loans. The company claims it has 350 employees and has served 100,000 borrowers.
Last year, taking advantage of lower mortgage rates and a refi boom, Wyndham actively expanded, opening two hubs in Dallas and Phoenix, which pushed its office count to five. The company also launched a retail division in July 2021 and hired former Citi executive Karen Mayfield in August to lead the national effort.
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With refinance volumes anticipated to decrease by 62% this year and many originators experiencing layoffs, lenders are looking for a way to diversify their offerings with non-QM products and gain new business in order to maintain profits.
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However, like other lenders with consumer direct models, the company tends to be refi-heavy and relies on call centers for intake, struggling to find footing in a purchase market as rates climb and margins start to compress.
In January, Wyndham had a round of layoffs when pink slips arrived for 35 loan officers across its offices in Dallas, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Kansas City and Phoenix.
Like Wyndham, other lenders cut jobs in the second half of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 in preparation for higher mortgage rates and reduced refinance volume. Purchase mortgage rates reached 5.23% this week – and some of those same lenders are making further cuts. As the market contracts, originators Interfirst Mortgage Co. and Better.com are implementing their second and third round of layoffs, respectively.
These companies are part of a larger list of companies cutting staff, including Wells Fargo, Pennymac, Mr. Cooper, loanDepot, Guaranteed Rate, Fairway Independent Mortgage, and Movement Mortgage.
