Latest USAA employee reduction impacts mortgage unit

USAA eliminated an unspecified number of jobs in late January, with some of the employees impacted working in the company's mortgage department.

A spokesman for the Texas-based company confirmed that a reduction round took place, but wouldn't provide further details.

"In order to continue exceptional service to our members, we sometimes make hard business decisions to ensure we are adapting to our members' needs and changes in the marketplace," said Brad Russell, the company's spokesperson, in a written statement. "Sometimes that means investing more heavily in growth areas and scaling back or stopping work in others."

Changes in the mortgage marketplace have been palpable, with elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty impacting origination volume and the bottom line of companies in the industry. As a result, dozens of banks, nonbanks and mortgage vendors have implemented right-sizing measures to stay afloat.

This is at least the second reduction round at USAA. In August, job cuts took place at its depository subsidiary USAA Federal Savings Bank. The company's information technology, client advising and human resources divisions were affected by the reductions.

"Anytime employees are impacted, we treat them with care and dignity — and support them in finding another position at USAA or elsewhere," added Russell. 

The company, a financial services firm that serves current and former military families through an online platform, employs nearly 35,000 people in total. USAA also seems to be actively hiring, with over 158 positions currently open via its website.

USAA would have been 2022's top mortgage originator in terms of customer service, according to the latest J.D. Power survey. It scored a 797, well ahead of Rocket Mortgage's 750. But because it doesn't serve the general public, it was not eligible to be ranked.

The company has been in hot water with federal regulators for risk-management issues for years. Most recently, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency called the company out for discriminatory practices in USAA's auto lending unit. A year prior, the OCC and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network hit the company with a $140 million penalty for failing to set up an adequate anti-money-laundering program and file timely reports on suspicious transactions.

And in 2020, the OCC fined USAA $85 million for risk-management issues and for violating laws that protect military members from financial harm.