WASHINGTON MUTUAL CUTS 200 POSITIONS AX TO FALL ON VALLEY WORKERS.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer CHATSWORTH - Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. Inc., the nation's biggest thrift, is cutting about 200 jobs at its regional headquarters complex in the Northwest Valley as part of a cost-cutting move, the Daily News learned Monday. The cuts, about 5 percent of the center's 4,000 positions, are in the loss management department. Those positions are being relocated to a similar center in Stockton over the next six months, company officials said late Monday, and employees will be offered jobs there. Those that don't relocate can try to find other jobs in the company or take a severance package A severance package is pay and benefits an employee receives when they leave employment at a company. In addition to the employee's remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:
``It's in keeping with the fine-tuning of the company to make it operate more efficient,'' Rodriguez said of the job cuts. ``We are confident, because we are a growth company, that we'll be able to offer them other employment.'' This is Washington Mutual's latest effort to consolidate operations following a massive buildup build·up also build-up n. 1. The act or process of amassing or increasing: a military buildup; a buildup of tension during the strike. 2. in the 1990s, thanks to acquisitions across the West. In June 1999, WaMu acquired H.F. Ahmanson & Co., parent of Home Savings of America. Washington Mutual bought American Savings Bank savings bank, financial institution that, until recently, performed only the following functions: receiving savings deposits of individuals, investing them, and providing a modest return to its depositors in the form of interest. in 1996 and Great Western Financial Corp. in 1997. Many of the people working at the Chatsworth facility were former employees of Home Savings or Great Western. Employees in Chatsworth were told of the cuts in a series of meetings Monday morning, Rodriguez said. The bank's campus of buildings in Chatsworth, former headquarters of Great Western, which was acquired for $8 billion, is one of three major service centers used for back office operations in California. The other service center is in Irvine. In previous cost-cutting moves, 85 Great Western and American Savings Banks in California were closed, including nine in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . Washington Mutual now has 2,000 facilities across 40 states. The loss management department in Chatsworth is largely being consolidated with the similar, though larger, operation in Stockton, Rodriguez said. Last year, in another move toward efficiency, several call center jobs located in Stockton were moved to Chatsworth. Washington Mutual's roots date back to 1889 when the Washington National Building and Loan Investment Association was founded to help people rebuild after the great Seattle fire The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire downtown area of Seattle, Washington, on June 6, 1889. Events of the fire At approximately 2:30 pm on June 6, 1889, an overturned glue pot in the carpentry shop of John Bachs started the most destructive fire in . Today California accounts for the majority of Washington Mutual's deposits and loans. Other key markets include Florida, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington. Its Long Beach subsidiary, Long Beach Mortgage, writes sub-prime loans through independent brokers. WASHINGTON MUTUAL HEADQUARTERS: Seattle EMPLOYEES: 28,500 1-Yr. Employee Growth: 4.3% 1999 SALES (mil An Internet address domain name for a military agency. See Internet address. (networking) mil - The top-level domain for entities affiliated with US armed forces. .): $13,571 1-Yr. Sales Growth: 6.5% 1999 Net Inc. (mil.): $1,817 1-Yr. Net Income Growth: 22.2% The company offers a wide variety of consumer loan products through 2,000 facilities in 40 states. Its top competitors are Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. , Golden West Financial and Wells Fargo Wells Fargo armored carriers of bullion. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1147] See : Protectiveness Wells Fargo company that handled express service to western states; often robbed. [Am. Hist. . - Source: Hoover's Online CAPTION(S): box Box: WASHINGTON MUTUAL (See text) |
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