Wachovia Layoff

Hi, I work in the San Leandro office they already laid off 2000 employees in the Bay Area already, not to mention the ELOC department, HR Dept., and Atlas dept. and many more departments to come, it's sad how much a company as large as Wachovia with billions of assets can lay off World Savings employees with out keeping them employed. Wachovia is not finish with the laid off, they are kicking World Savings employees out. They already laid off other offices in California. I feel sorry for the people who been with World Savings for over 20 years who got laid off.

World Saving was a great company, even my department might get laid off.

Displaced HLE said: Plus if you are a top producer I believe they look at your monthly production numbers and put that into the equation for the 12 month calculation. I would call the Wachovia HR line and say severance and see what the "World Savings" severance package is and how they calculate the severance. I also believe the severance information is on the internet. If you go on Worlds internet search and type in severance it will also bring this information up.

Let me ask you a question. How much training have you gotten on Wachovia systems and products? Have you been trained on impact? If not then I would be concerned. If they are not transitioning your department to be Wachovized then I would look over your shoulder.

I hope that helps.

I work in the San Leandro office the World Savings Reps here have not gotten any traning on Wachovia products since we merge in July. They already laid off 3 departments in the operations center here, and more lay off are to come by the end of the year

Another displaced employee said: I heard the layoffs are supposed to stop this week. I hope this is the case for everyone that is still with the company. Good luck to everyone!

The lay off has not stop. They just laid off the whole ELOC dept. in San Leandro, CA

A now Wachovia Employee in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Hi, I work in the San Leandro office they already laid off 2000 employees in the Bay Area already, not to mention the ELOC department, HR Dept., and Atlas dept. and many more departments to come, it's sad how much a company as large as Wachovia with billions of assets can lay off World Savings employees with out keeping them employed. Wachovia is not finish with the laid off, they are kicking World Savings employees out. They already laid off other offices in California. I feel sorry for the people who been with World Savings for over 20 years who got laid off.

Are rocs for the wholesale side getting laid off?

A now Wachovia Employee in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Hi, I work in the San Leandro office they already laid off 2000 employees in the Bay Area already, not to mention the ELOC department, HR Dept., and Atlas dept. and many more departments to come, it's sad how much a company as large as Wachovia with billions of assets can lay off World Savings employees with out keeping them employed. Wachovia is not finish with the laid off, they are kicking World Savings employees out. They already laid off other offices in California. I feel sorry for the people who been with World Savings for over 20 years who got laid off.

There are not 2,000 World employees in the bay area, and there never has been.

Is anyone in any of the other States that is still employed finding that you are putting on a lot of loans but because of the cut staff that the most fundings that you can accomodate is very low because of slowness of the skelaton supporting staff? I have lost a lot of good loans to rate, slow closes and follow up at times. Curious of what kind of turn time other States are doing from app to close and how many loans your supporting staff is closing for you per month. TSS has never slowed my production but increased it because if we were not funding loans we were not able to be renewed at all. Now it has been told that regardless of what we fund there will be no more renewals it is strictly a commission only position even though my production superceeded the TSS. This worries me because my paycheck now depends soley on others whether or not I get a paycheck. Any feedback??

Its very interesting the range of information one can get from this site. I too have been wondering why our HLE/WHL office has not been trained on Wachovia's own proprietary systems. I was displaced and called back but relatively certain it will be temporary as my office (which is not in texas) has not hit a funding goal of 10 in any month since we opened. Not really even sure how it has survived this long. Personally just waiting for the ax to fall....again. Appreciate all the info coming in.

We are across the hall from a ROC. Half of our office is gone and they are all still there.

I know for sure one wholesale roc N Hollywood roc got shut down. I spoke with an underwriter there. He said that their volume was very high, 580 apps/month. He did not understand why they shut down his center since they were getting so much volume. I am curious has anyone heard of any other high volume rocs on the wholesale side (underwriters and processors) being closed?

In our district we had layoffs in each position....basically those with the least tenure were gone. It included our receptionist, an LCS, underwriter and CSL.

Us as processors not even going to do the Wachovia loans and the processing hub in Colorado makes us worry.
We are in a wholesale office...the ROC looks like the safe zone to us.

Alot of my office also came from the Moneystore. WHich Wachovia bought years back and they were all part of those layoffs

Displaced in Florida said: That is news to me. I know the ROC in the headquarters in Boynton Beach is still operating and the ROC on Congress in Boynton Beach is still open. I just talked to an underwriter with the ROC in Deerfield and it's still open. I hope the Hollywood closure is not a shade of things to come! Enough is enough and it breaks my heart to hear about losing so many good people.

Yes the Hollywood Roc was with the first round of layoffs in August. I was shocked and so was the staff there.

When they laid off the Logan CCC retention office they said "You have been the highest producing office in all of Retention, so this isn't because of production, this is just a business decision." Also, Mr. Dave Johnston, who is in charge all of Retention (used to be in Cali) he basically said about 2 months before we all found out about the lay off, that even though everyone was worried about the jobs, not to worry, because wachovia said they are not going to mess with the way that World is going to do mortgages.....well this looks like "messing" to me. A regional manager said that Dave Pope (who is now in charge of the mortgage side and replaced Judd, who by the way did not retire willingly...it was forced...)anyway, Mr. Dave Pope is coming from the Savings and Loan side, which means he is just learning the mortgage side. I personally asked him, why do you think wachovia bought world, he said, well initially it was for the cali. branch presense, but the portfolio seems like the cherry on the cake now. That makes me think that by the time they finish changing the way world did their mortgage business, the cherry will be lost, and it will be too late. My opinion only however. All in all I do think that Wachovia is changing the way world is doing mortgages, mostly it is because they feel that the portfolio is shrinking and has become much less profitable due to the mods. However, if you have been in HLE, start looking to work for banks that do FHA and conventional loans, they are easier with this market of the subprime crashing. Study up on FHA loans and understand what other mortgage brokers are able to do. FHA allows banks to carry risk that a portfolio lender might not want to.
Also, the credit card payment default has gone up to 4.8%, and the real estate slump is the worst since 1987. So this is a difficult time, but there might be a market out there that is not visible when you worked for world/wachovia.

Displaced in Florida said: Does anyone know about the layoffs affecting anyone on the wholesale side. It seems they have not been touched in any major way. I hope they stay whole. I have too many friends that are on the wholesale side and I wouldn't want anything to happen to them!

There have been underwriters, processors, admin support and even appraisers that have been laid off on the wholesale side in Northern California. HLE is still operable, while a couple of the ROCs in Oregon/Wash have been closed. The least tenured are the one to go first.

Information = Knowledge = Empowerment

Please get a copy of the CORRECT severance package if you have questions on the severance and on what basis benefits are determined.

There is a lot of rumor and misinformation out there and on this board too. Although the information being shared here is invaluable on the whole.

Please, please go to Exchange and do a search on "Golden West Financial Corporation Severance Pay Plan" - this is the package that is in effect IF you were a World employee as of 10/1/2006. The phrasing and language is a bit dense as it is a legal document, but please read it carefully to understand your options. Especially if your job location is being moved or your job is changed, reclassified or duties are being changed around. The obligation is on the employee to pursue severance in those situations - not Wachovia. If you accept the change you have no claim. If on reading the package someone reaches a different conclusion please explain your interpretation.

If you were hired after 10/1/2006 you are subject to a Wachovia severance package that differs in certain ways. I have heard of tenured World employees incorrectly being told they were subject to that plan. Ouch!

World was a great place with great people, but it's gone and it's not coming back. Let's move on and move forward!

was told layoffs ending as of 8/21 but sounds like still layoffs are occuring? is this correct?

layoffs over in San Antonio, Texas said: was told layoffs ending as of 8/21 but sounds like still layoffs are occuring? is this correct?

that is correct, unfortunately. just this week a number of layoffs have occured and it is still being said that Wachovia is not done with our campus yet. i keep reading this forum to hear more about what to expect in my own department but it seems like we will all be blind-sighted no matter how much we try to prepare.

Lost between Old World and New Wachovia in San Antonio, Texas said: that is correct, unfortunately. just this week a number of layoffs have occured and it is still being said that Wachovia is not done with our campus yet. i keep reading this forum to hear more about what to expect in my own department but it seems like we will all be blind-sighted no matter how much we try to prepare.

Who was laid off this week? departments and positions?

30% of the loan volume came from N. Cali so where are they sending all of the N. California wholesale loan volume to? I am curious....

The Clo trainers in No & So Cal...yesturday were given 60 days to find a new position or get their package...(the trainers from the branches)

Who does the layoffs? Your direct manager or conference call?

I personally call them the "Grim Reapers" they are Wachovia Hr. I call them that becuase they come for you and after that you are gone.
Senior Management is told like a week in advance and everyone comes in that day on time...kinda obvious...
that is how I heard us on the west doing it

depends, it was our region manager, and department manager, and Dave pope (CEO) in person. Still makes it difficult however.

no ROCs were closed down in either Oregon or Washington

Displaced HLE said: The skelatal staff was a huge factor is slowing up production potential along with low appraisals and tighter guidelines. HLE was a nightmare towards the end. Our TSS was taken away seems to be going through what we did almost 6 months ago.I do think that if your production numbers are high that could be your saving grace. However the month before I was laid off I funded over 1 million in loans. It did not matter. I think our offices were starting to cook by looking at the numbers but I don't think they wanted us to succeed. When we started to meet some targets they closed us sorry to say.

Wow that is not good news! Are you here in Colorado or are you from another State? My numbers are better than anyone elses but that certainly doesn't say much since no one else is really doing any loans. I closed 7 loans last month for a little of 1M. I am sure that is nothing to Wachovia...I am just as dispensible as the next guy. I am hoping to close 3M in September but that is only because of the large loan amounts that I have been getting. And as you said getting the loans is not the hard part, it is actually getting them to fund, if its not appraisals, its rates, if its not rate its processing, if its not processing its something else. So much has changed it almost makes you crazy and wonder if all of the headache is worth it.

hopeful in Colorado said: Is anyone in any of the other States that is still employed finding that you are putting on a lot of loans but because of the cut staff that the most fundings that you can accomodate is very low because of slowness of the skelaton supporting staff? I have lost a lot of good loans to rate, slow closes and follow up at times. Curious of what kind of turn time other States are doing from app to close and how many loans your supporting staff is closing for you per month. TSS has never slowed my production but increased it because if we were not funding loans we were not able to be renewed at all. Now it has been told that regardless of what we fund there will be no more renewals it is strictly a commission only position even though my production superceeded the TSS. This worries me because my paycheck now depends soley on others whether or not I get a paycheck. Any feedback??

Are you referring to wholesale or HLE/WHL?

Oh I am sorry HLE/WHL...however I would assume that it is felt from both sides since the processing and appraisals are working for both. Are there any loan reps out there that are in the State of Colorado that are looking for work? I have several very good job offers recently that offer full benefits and base pay. Let me know if you are interested and I will forward on the information.

Knowledge in California in San Antonio, Texas said: There have been underwriters, processors, admin support and even appraisers that have been laid off on the wholesale side in Northern California. HLE is still operable, while a couple of the ROCs in Oregon/Wash have been closed. The least tenured are the one to go first.

There were absolutely no layoffs in any of the ROCS in Oregon or Washington.

The lay off haven't hit my dept. yet but it's own its way for the telefinance dept. They told ElOC that every one would keep there jobs, two weeks they were told that October is there last month. Now there are sending the ELOC files to Texas for processing.

Since they closed the Logan Utah office all of there files are being sent to San Leandro, CA for processing, and most of them are denied. I work in the San Leandro office and we got 30 loans last month and most of them denied, we ain't doing much loans now days.

I'm in California not much loans. They won't use to push Wachoiva loans but we haven't been trained on they systems and how to process their loans. They are training they own people to process their own loans inside World Saving the banks now. They haven't not once trained a World Savings employees own processing their own loans.

The layoffs are done by email and then a conference call first thing in the morning.

Me in ElOC in San Leandro, CA my last month is October, they us three weeks ago, that's not a enough time to find another job. Wachovia is a cold company.

The Layoff is coming soon for every dept. in San Leandro, wholesale, rocs, and telefinance.

The bay area is big, there's the HQ in Oakland, Opertions Center in San Leandro, banks, there's other loan offices in San Jose, and San Francisco, there are more then 2000 employees who work in the bay area for World Savings. Read the local news paper Wachovia laid off thousand's of bay area employees who had worked for W.S. It's a big issuse out here with Wachovia laying off World Saving employees in the bay. We are taking it day by day.

World Savings is the birth place of the Bay Area

World Savings in Oakland, California said: The Layoff is coming soon for every dept. in San Leandro, wholesale, rocs, and telefinance.

I have friends in San Leandro ELOC and they actually had a physical meeting regarding their layoffs. Now, I'm concerned for the rest. How did you hear about telefinance layoffs? Isn't that the last retention center left in the Bay area? When is the rest supposed to hit? I feel so sad and nervous about this.

Are you a processor? Meaning the job offers are for processors?

World Savings in Oakland, California said: Since they closed the Logan Utah office all of there files are being sent to San Leandro, CA for processing, and most of them are denied. I work in the San Leandro office and we got 30 loans last month and most of them denied, we ain't doing much loans now days.

That is sad to hear....I trained some of the staff in S.L. office, who was your supervisor?

hopeful in Colorado said: Oh I am sorry HLE/WHL...however I would assume that it is felt from both sides since the processing and appraisals are working for both. Are there any loan reps out there that are in the State of Colorado that are looking for work? I have several very good job offers recently that offer full benefits and base pay. Let me know if you are interested and I will forward on the information.

Are those job offers for processors?

I can call and ask them. Are you local in Colorado?

hopeful in Colorado said: I can call and ask them. Are you local in Colorado?

Sorry that was rather vague. If you are looking for good positions in the State of Colorado. I can call and see if they are looking for Processors and Underwriters also. The positions that have been offered to me are for originations. I am going to tough it out and have told them that I am not currently on the market. I will however go there if we do get laid off in Colorado.

hopeful in Colorado said: I can call and ask them. Are you local in Colorado?

Utah, I worked in the Logan CCC office (actually got xfered to it because they hired 24 loan reps and wanted me to train them about 2-3 months before the layoff...) I was a loan rep before they made me Sr. Sales Coach.

hopeful in Colorado said: Sorry that was rather vague. If you are looking for good positions in the State of Colorado. I can call and see if they are looking for Processors and Underwriters also. The positions that have been offered to me are for originations. I am going to tough it out and have told them that I am not currently on the market. I will however go there if we do get laid off in Colorado.

wachovia is looking for people in colorado, or other financial institutions? The interesting thing with Wachovia is, if you get a job with them again, you have to pay back some of the severance...

I am still employed at the Centennial ROC, My production has been good and we have a lot of good promo stuff coming up. We are sponsoring a National Open House for Realtors in the area. Yes, they are still hiring MC's at our office. I did hear that if you were rehired by Wachovia that part of the severence has to be paid back, does that mean that if they end up laying you off again that you are not eligible for another severence package? The way that I understood it is that 6yrs or less that have been laid off are receiving an average of their bonus only and given a 2 month suspension period and after the 2 mos is exhausted you are able to go and apply for a position anywhere in the industry. so I guess they are paying 6 mos + 2 mos. That seems like pretty solid pay to me. But again I am still employed so I am going off of what I have been told and not 1st hand knowledge. The positions that I have been offered are with other stable companies in the industry and not Wachovia. I am just trying to get as many loans as possible and see if I am going to be retained at WHL or replaced if our office does get shut down. I am just trying to see if anyone in my State has been displaced and is looking for a job in originations that I know of some good positions outside of Wachovia that are hiring. I just thought if someone was looking from World Displaced that I could offer them the names and numbers of the companies that are trying to pursue me.

hopeful in Colorado said: I am still employed at the Centennial ROC, My production has been good and we have a lot of good promo stuff coming up. We are sponsoring a National Open House for Realtors in the area. Yes, they are still hiring MC's at our office. I did hear that if you were rehired by Wachovia that part of the severence has to be paid back, does that mean that if they end up laying you off again that you are not eligible for another severence package? The way that I understood it is that 6yrs or less that have been laid off are receiving an average of their bonus only and given a 2 month suspension period and after the 2 mos is exhausted you are able to go and apply for a position anywhere in the industry. so I guess they are paying 6 mos + 2 mos. That seems like pretty solid pay to me. But again I am still employed so I am going off of what I have been told and not 1st hand knowledge. The positions that I have been offered are with other stable companies in the industry and not Wachovia. I am just trying to get as many loans as possible and see if I am going to be retained at WHL or replaced if our office does get shut down. I am just trying to see if anyone in my State has been displaced and is looking for a job in originations that I know of some good positions outside of Wachovia that are hiring. I just thought if someone was looking from World Displaced that I could offer them the names and numbers of the companies that are trying to pursue me.

as for the repayment of the severance package it would be wise to check this out with lawyer. the way i understand the severance, it is contractural and part of the deal between world and wac. i did not see any conversation regarding repayment back to wac. in the event of being rehired by them. this is a ploy by wac to get the deduction on their books for overhead expense but not show the refund back to them. i would check this out.
also jay bryson was on bloomberg this morning and he did

continued from above.

not mention anything about the layoffs. what are they hiding.

hopeful in Colorado said: I am still employed at the Centennial ROC, My production has been good and we have a lot of good promo stuff coming up. We are sponsoring a National Open House for Realtors in the area. Yes, they are still hiring MC's at our office. I did hear that if you were rehired by Wachovia that part of the severence has to be paid back, does that mean that if they end up laying you off again that you are not eligible for another severence package? The way that I understood it is that 6yrs or less that have been laid off are receiving an average of their bonus only and given a 2 month suspension period and after the 2 mos is exhausted you are able to go and apply for a position anywhere in the industry. so I guess they are paying 6 mos + 2 mos. That seems like pretty solid pay to me. But again I am still employed so I am going off of what I have been told and not 1st hand knowledge. The positions that I have been offered are with other stable companies in the industry and not Wachovia. I am just trying to get as many loans as possible and see if I am going to be retained at WHL or replaced if our office does get shut down. I am just trying to see if anyone in my State has been displaced and is looking for a job in originations that I know of some good positions outside of Wachovia that are hiring. I just thought if someone was looking from World Displaced that I could offer them the names and numbers of the companies that are trying to pursue me.

That is so generous of you! I can relocate, so I am looking at all possibilities. What companies are looking?

National City has offered me a position, as well as First Option Lending

2000 S. Colorado Blvd., Ste. #2-250 Denver, CO 80222

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