Lending Tree laid off another 220 employees last week, or 17 percent of the company, because of continuing deterioration of the mortgage market, a spokeswoman said.
The cuts were mostly in Irvine, where the company’s direct lending business is based. Lending Tree, a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp, is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Besides making loans, Lending Tree sells leads to other lenders.
Positions eliminated included “loan officers and other production-oriented folks,” among others, said spokeswoman Rebecca Anderson.
Lending Tree, which laid off 250 people in September, has said that a lack of investor confidence in mortgage-backed securities is the biggest factor driving cuts, but business hasn’t completely dried up.
Almost 500 employees remain in Irvine. “Loans are still being sold and loans are still being made, just less,” Anderson said.
LendingTree swung to a $5.6 million third quarter loss from a $15.2 million profit a year earlier, IAC said last month.
IAC is planning to break up into five separate publicly traded companies. Lending Tree would be one of the five.
old news. we knew this last week. whats up with the lag time? btw, look into merril lynch’s retail arm in lake forrest. i think it’s nation something. they did a big one a few weeks ago also.
yea old news….
If mortgage lenders, including either Lending Tree or Bear Stearns allowed borrowers to pay them until lender and borrower agreed they are now on solid financial ground then this news flash may not be happening today!
actually most of the layoffs happened in charlotte not irvine!