Homebridge to lay off 139 following CMG Mortgage deal

Homebridge Financial Services will lay off 139 employees as the company sheds what's left of its retail operations following the sale of that channel to CMG Mortgage last month.

The Iselin, New Jersey-based lender will terminate 139 workers including at least nine loan officers by June 26, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification submitted in its home state. The filing, dated March 24, cites an additional layoff date of Aug. 31, but it's unclear if any personnel beyond those initially described will be impacted.

"As a result of a sale of a portion of its business Homebridge Financial will terminate all of its retail operations," wrote Phil Schild, general counsel for Homebridge.

Representatives for both CMG and Homebridge didn't respond to requests for comment Monday.

CMG Mortgage in early March purchased Homebridge's retail origination business for an undisclosed price, in one of the larger independent mortgage banking transactions of the past 12 months. A spokesperson for Homebridge at the time did not address whether the move would involve job cuts. Homebridge counts 1,940 employees on LinkedIn.

Impacted staff will receive severance pay and can exercise rights to medical benefits under COBRA coverage, the WARN said.

Homebridge, which touted more than 180 retail branches at the time of last month's divestiture, will retain its two wholesale divisions: Homebridge Wholesale and REMN Wholesale. CMG, based in San Ramon, California, operates in the correspondent, retail and wholesale channels.

The firms are significant players in the mortgage market; CMG originated more than $19 billion in volume last year, while Homebridge originated $12 billion in 2022. 

CMG's acquisition came nine months after Homebridge and fintech Figure Technologies nixed plans for a proposed merger, although they said they would maintain a partnership for Figure's blockchain integrations and home equity line of credit lending.

Lenders have let go of tens of thousands of employees in the past 12 months as the industry rightsized to address fading mortgage activity, although the pace of mass firings had slowed at the beginning of the year. Major banks like Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo have also cut hundreds of personnel in home lending roles in the past few months.