Reply #2: IndyMac (bankcorp) slashes 2,403 jobs [View All]

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - IndyMac Bancorp Inc (IMB.N: Quote, Profile, Research), one of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders, said on Tuesday it is eliminating 2,403 jobs, or 24 percent of its workforce, to cope with deteriorating housing and capital markets.

Chief Executive Michael Perry announced the cuts in an e-mail to employees, three months after he had said the Pasadena, California-based parent of IndyMac Bank was "largely done" with staff cuts.

"The reality is that since October 12 conditions have gotten worse," Perry wrote.

The latest cuts include double-digit percentage reductions in most major business lines, including a 30 percent cut in mortgage production. IndyMac also plans to close five of its 16 wholesale mortgage centers by the end of March. It expects to employ 7,535 people after the cuts.

"This action is clearly painful, but it is necessary in our drive to return IndyMac to profitability soon," Perry wrote. He said the company has a "realistic shot" of returning to profitability in the second half of 2008.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1533641420080116