Dot-com to dot-condo - here come the massive layoffs

40,000 in the mortgage biz gone already - heck, 25,000 just last week. And 100,000 less realtors. And we're just getting started.

Millions will go unemployed during this bust - and not just REIC. Watch for the investment bankers, Home Depot salesmen, Pottery Barn employees, Lexus salesmen, dry cleaners, and pretty much every industry throughout the land.

Hope it was worth it Greenspan. Hope it was worth it Mozilo. Hope it was worth it Lereah.

Anyone doubting HP anymore? Chicken Littles right? Brown Shirts right? HousingPANIC is here folks. And it's gonna get ugly.

Mortgage industry job cuts surpass 40,000
Companies stop 'on a dime'; 25,000 positions eliminated so far this month

At the North Carolina offices of mortgage lender HomeBanc Corp., Archie Clark is the only employee left. But in a few days, he’ll be gone, too.

“It’s pretty much a ghost town over there,” Clark said. “Somebody went in and took the furniture from the lobby. I don’t know who did that. I put some of the other stuff in the back and locked it up.”

When Clark finishes helping movers from the company’s Atlanta headquarters collect computers and other property, he’ll join the more than 25,000 workers nationwide who have lost jobs in the financial services industry since the beginning of the month — with more than half coming since last Friday.

Get used to these statements from failed mortgage lenders and homebuilders

American Home has ceased taking mortgage applications and has notified all of its production employees that they will be separated effective tomorrow, August 3, 2007. Accordingly, the Company employee base will be reduced from over 7,000 to approximately 750. The Company currently is maintaining its thrift and servicing businesses.

Michael Strauss, American Home's Chief Executive Officer, stated,

"It is with great sadness that American Home has had to take this action which involves so many dedicated employees. The employees affected should understand that this is not a reflection on their efforts or their productivity.

Unfortunately, the market conditions in both the secondary mortgage market as well as the national real estate market have deteriorated to the point that we have no realistic alternative."

FLASH: As predicted, American Home Mortgage lays everyone off, shuts doors on Friday. Housing crash and mortgage meltdown now spinning out of control

7,409 employees - gone

Hopes and dreams - gone

All stockholder equity - gone

Tens of thousands of potential homedebtors - gone

Their corrupt list of co-conspirators - here for all to see

And remember, this wasn't a subprime lender - they were mainly prime and Alt-A (Liar's Loans). Anyone questioning the housing crash and mortgage meltdown now? DOLTS!

Here's the email from the CEO getting rid of all the employees (get used to these America):

“It is with great sadness I announce today that American Home Mortgage has been forced to close. Unfortunately, the market conditions in both the secondary mortgage market as well as the national real estate market have deteriorated to the point that our business is no longer viable,” Strauss wrote.

Here's the update on their closure:

NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Mortgage lender American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. is closing its doors on Friday, and has told employees they will be laid off, according to Newsday, citing an e-mail to employees from Chief Executive Michael Strauss.

The company said on Tuesday it could no longer fund home loans and might sell off its assets, after its lenders cut off access to credit. It said on its Web site it is no longer accepting home loan applications.

"Bankruptcy is the next logical step for them," said Steve DeLaney, analyst at JPM Securities in Atlanta.

And here's Forbes from July 20th predicting that all would be well (he he he):

American Home Mortgage Back On Track?

Talk about a rebound! Although American Home Mortgage Investment hasn’t recovered all of the value it lost when the stock plunged on Thursday following a rumor that Lehman Brothers had yanked its credit line, it has certainly made up lost ground.

Another boost to American Homes shares may have been a research note put out by RBC Capital Markets analyst James Ackor saying the stock tumbled on Thursday well below its value

Another liar's loan (Alt-A) lender goes under - and here's the kinda funny, kinda sad, kinda weird adios from their CEO

How much longer until Alt-A king IndyMac comes clean do ya think? Mark to Market anyone? Public audit anyone? SEC investigation anyone? (yes, I'm happily short IMB at time of writing)

Here's the goodbye letter c/o calculatedrisk from Chapter 7 Alliance Bancorp

This year we’ve put up a valiant fight! One with integrity, dignity and never wavering determination, focused solely on how to succeed. We have reached out to everyone we know, and many that we don’t know, to tell our story, of how we have made it this far, of the expertise and skills that we have, of the quality of our organization, and of how we have refused to lose!

We have received tremendous support and loyalty from our employees and business partners during this year’s extreme conditions. So many individuals and companies have believed in us and cheered us on as we’ve dodged the obstacles thrown in our path, obstacles that many others were unable to overcome. We have had extraordinary support from our ownership and Board of Directors. They have acted unselfishly, putting the company, its employees and creditors first and foremost. They are honorable people whom I highly respect.

Unfortunately the latest market was more than we were able to overcome. We have exhausted our resources and do not have the means to move forward. Therefore, it is with great sadness that I announce that we have ceased operations as of today, July 13th.

Lisa Duehring
President/CEO

And here's the hiring section on their website that's still live for some reason. I guess the webmaster got canned first:

JOIN A WINNING TEAM…

This is an exciting time to be a part of the financial services industry and an excellent time to build your career with a nationwide lender in the innovative Mortgage Lending Industry.

Ever since the 1980s, the Alliance Bancorp team has grown in size and strength and has been effective because of our people. We have some of the most talented, innovative and dedicated people in the financial industry. We value team players who can work in a fast-paced environment, are flexible, and have a strong work ethic. We enjoy the benefits of a large corporation with the personal attention of a smaller company. Our unique philosophy is what sets us apart.

Alliance Bancorp is always seeking professionals to join our growing team. We offer competitive salaries and an employee benefits package.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

What will be the unintended consequences of the housing crash?

Pulte cans another 1,900. Too bad we don't know the true REIC layoff number

1,900 more get the axe at Pulte today, but the real story on homebuilder layoffs will never be known, since the people who built all these unwanted homes were never "employees" - just contractors and illegals mainly.

But no matter how they're counted (or not counted) the jobs are gone.

And yes, that means a lot of people who aren't able to make their mortgage payment anymore, or buy new GM trucks, or take their family to PF Changs, or wire money back to Mexico (that's why they were booing).

The true REIC layoff number with housing and homebuilding having totally collapsed is likely in the millions. Don't forget ramen eating realtors don't show up in the government reports either.

We've lost another American industry folks (thank you Alan Greenspan). The country who no longer builds things now doesn't even build houses.

Homebuilder Pulte to Cut About 16 Percent of Work Force, About 1,900 Jobs in Restructuring

DETROIT (AP) -- Facing a grim housing market, Pulte Homes Inc. said Tuesday that it is cutting about 16 percent of its work force, or about 1,900 jobs, as part of a restructuring.

Pulte, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, said the restructuring will save an estimated $200 million a year before taxes.

"The homebuilding environment remains difficult, and our current overhead levels are structured for a business that is larger than the market presently allows," Richard J. Dugas Jr., president and chief executive, said in a news release.

No surprise - Subprime king New Century now worthless, lays everyone off

Funny how you can go from the top of the heap one day to firing everyone and closing up shop and firing everyone the next day.

Not funny when it's your job. Not funny when millions of people you "helped" end up losing their house and going bankrupt. Not funny when billions of dollars are lost because of your greed and incompetence. And not funny when you're just the first of many to come.

Want some cheap real estate coming up? Head to Orange County - the home of the mortgage lender implosion and pink slips.

New Century Financial receives no bids for loan-making units and tells 2,000 workers today is their last day.

New Century Financial of Irvine, the largest subprime lender to file for bankruptcy protection, said it will lay off 2,000 of its remaining workers, including 500 in Orange County, effective today, after failing to find a buyer for its loan-making units.

The company, which has come to symbolize the rise and fall of lenders to higher risk borrowers, is facing its final days of existence, said Brad Morrice, New Century's chief executive. It will retain a skeleton crew of about 750 workers, mostly in Orange County, to wind things down.

During a conference call, Morrice told workers there were no bids for its retail or wholesale lending operations by the Wednesday deadline.

"This brings us to today, which is a day that I could never have imagined facing," Morrice said.

"We must terminate most of our remaining workforce, including virtually all origination personnel."

As recently as two months ago, New Century employed 7,200 people. Last year, it originated $60 billion in loans.

FLASH: Here come the bank layoffs - Citigroup axes 17,000

That's 17,000 more likely homedebtors who had the rug pulled out from under them. As we all know, layoffs only speed up the crash, and Citigroup is the #10 subprime lender. Batten down the hatches, the clouds are forming...

In the end, big companies suck. No job is safe. And Desperate Homedebtors with insecure jobs and massive ARM loans are probably thinking one thing right now during these unsettling times:

"Boy, I wish I had sold and rented."

Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, said Wednesday it will eliminate about 17,000 jobs as part of a companywide restructuring to reduce costs and improve profit.

A message from the HousingPANIC community to American homebuilding tradesmen and women

I hope you don't mind HP'ers if I speak for you on this post...

To the honest, hard working & skilled American tradesmen and women who build America's houses;

We at HP wish you no harm. Quite the opposite, we would like to see an America where you can ply your craft, safely, consistently, fairly, and for a decent wage. We think what's happened to you personally, and to your profession, is one of the saddest chapters in American history.

Housing was turned into a great get-rich-quick Ponzi Scheme by evil and corrupt people. And now you are the ones who will pay the price.

Your jobs were stolen, or wages forced down, by a blatantly illegal labor force, imported from Mexico by greedy homebuilders and developers, with a nudge-nudge-wink-wink from a bought-and-paid-for Congress and President.

Your industry, the late-great-American-homebuilding industry, has now been destroyed by corrupt cabal of commission-hungry mortgage brokers, bankers, financiers, appraisers and real estate clerks. They could care less about you and your families, the quality of the product, and your profession. They simply wanted their short-term commissions and profits - and screw you, screw everyone and screw everything else.

The collapse of the American homebuilding industry, the outsourcing of your jobs to illegal Mexican labor, and the crappiness of new home product, is a great American tragedy. We hope you help us fight the real enemies, restore the American homebuilding industry, and clean up the den of corruption which led to your predicament.

We at HousingPANIC stand behind the American homebuilding labor force.

Fight the power. And best of luck to all of you.

The Knockout Blow: “If you think this is bad, imagine what it’s going to be like in the middle of the crisis.”

I like the "we've hit bottom" crowd, even though that field is getting smaller. Folks, now the the REIC is in full meltdown mode, and millions will eventually lose their jobs (including the illegals), all that does is speed up the crash even faster. The meltdown is just starting. And people think it's bad already? Man, just wait.

Throw in the inability of millions to get new loans, or refi their old toxic loans, and the writing is on the wall.

The Great Unwinding is here. What happens to a country who has lost it's manufacturing base, and the only thing left that they still build - houses - stops too? We'll now find out...

The housing market and the related construction industry is one of the biggest, if not the biggest driver of the economy.

The ability of “anybody with a pulse” (and probably their dog too) to get a loan is what drove the real-estate market.

The ability of people to refinance and cash-out home equity also fueled consumer spending and the economy.

But now a huge segment of prospective home buyers can no longer qualify for a mortgage to purchase a home, and home prices are stagnating and falling in many areas.

“It’s going to be a disaster for many people who don’t have a clue about what happens when a real-estate bubble pops,” said Rogers.Think of this as “the leading edge of the storm,” says Lou Ranieri, who is considered by some to be the father of the mortgage bond market.

“If you think this is bad, imagine what it’s going to be like in the middle of the crisis.”