Metropolitan Mortgage Lays Off 39

Metropolitan Mortgage laid off 39 workers Monday in response to a downturn in the mortgage industry, said Erik Skaggs, manager of government relations.

The industry in general is suffering from the effects of rising interest rates, he said, and some of the speciality markets served by Metropolitan have been hard hit.

About half the company’s 750 employees work on the mortgage side of the business, Skaggs said. Metropolitan and its subsidiaries also sell insurance and other financial products.

“This is a realignment,” Skaggs said. “It’s part of an ongoing restructuring in the company.”

He said Metropolitan will try to make the layoffs as painless as possible by providing a minimum of one month’s severance pay, three months of medical and dental insurance coverage and on-site outplacement facilities.

“Nobody likes to have a layoff,” he said, adding that others in the mortgage business have taken more drastic action in response to market conditions.

Skaggs said Metropolitan has been able to minimize the impacts by reducing costs and shifting resources into other businesses, such as leasing.

Much of that work has been overseen by new management teams in marketing and operations, as well as a new chief financial officer, Skaggs said.