JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced it will lay off 135 employees who provide mortgage banking customer assistance from its office in downtown Milwaukee.
The company, which will move some of the work elsewhere in its network, attributed the layoff to the improved economy, which has resulted in fewer mortgage defaults. It will close its Mortgage Banking Customer Assistance business as an operating group.
“As the economy continues to improve, we are seeing far fewer homeowners struggling with their mortgages and the vast majority have already refinanced,” said Elizabeth Seymour, a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase. “We regularly review our expenses to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible and in line with current market conditions.”
The bank has about 1,450 employees in the Milwaukee market.
The employees, based in the Chase Tower at 111 E. Wisconsin Ave., were informed of the decision on Tuesday, and received formal termination notices today. Their final day is expected to be March 26. The affected positions are mostly mortgage banking quality control specialists.
JPMorgan Chase in 2015 reduced the size of its footprint in the Chase Tower from 235,000 to 175,000 square feet. Its lease expires in 2021.
Chase offers a talent reassignment program for eligible employees who have performed well within the company. It has reassigned nearly 13,000 employees since 2011.
Wells Fargo & Co. made a similar announcement in March, closing its Parkland Servicing office at 11200 W. Parkland Ave. in Milwaukee and laying off the 1,000 home lending service employees working there.
