AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT ROBINHOOD (06/28/23)

JUNE 26, 2023 — ROUND THREE: 7% OF STAFF TO BE LAID OFF

The company has announced it is reducing its headcount by 7%, or approximately 150 full-time employees company to balance staff for a slowdown in customer trading activity.

According to a spokesperson, “We’re ensuring operational excellence in how we work together on an ongoing basis. In some cases, this may mean teams make changes based on volume, workload, org design, and more.

AUGUST 2, 2022 — ROUND TWO: 23% OF STAFF TARGETED IN REORGANIZATION

Robinhood announced a 23% reduction of its workforce citing business conditions and the reduced participation of retail investors who are using its brokerage platform.

Approximately 700 employees were impacted.

Robinhood’s CEO Vlad Tenev noted, “Last year, we staffed many of our operations functions under the assumption that the heightened retail engagement we had been seeing with the stock and crypto markets in the Covid era would persist into 2022. In this new environment, we are operating with more staffing than appropriate. As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory—this is on me. The reality is that we over-hired, in particular in some of our support functions.”

MAY 4, 2022 — Orignal post…

Menlo Park, California-based Robinhood Markets, a financial services company specializing in commission-free trading of stocks, exchange-traded funds, and cryptocurrencies via the company's mobile app, has announced a major reduction in force, approximately laying off about 9% of its workforce.

The reduction in force will impact approximately 300 workers.

CEO and Co-Founder Vlad Tenev noted that business boomed during the pandemic and the company onboarded new hires rapidly leading to over-expansion and duplicative functions.

"This rapid headcount growth has led to some duplicate roles and job functions, and more layers and complexity than are optimal. After carefully considering all these factors, we determined that making these reductions to Robinhood's staff is the right decision to improve efficiency, increase our velocity, and ensure that we are responsive to the changing needs of our customers."

"While the decision to undertake this action wasn’t easy, it is a deliberate step to ensure we are able to continue delivering on our strategic goals and furthering our mission to democratize finance.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT INTERACTIVE MORTGAGE

Costa Mesa, California-based WinnPointe Corporation, a residential mortgage lender doing business as Interactive Mortgage has announced another major reduction in force.

The reduction in force will impact 51 employees, including three underwriters, fifteen loan officers, eleven processors, three funders, and nineteen administrative support personnel. The separation date is scheduled for April 7, 2022.

Over the past twelve months, the company has laid off 128 employees, including six underwriters, twenty loan officers, twenty-five funders, and fifty-one administrative support personnel.

128 employees have been laid off over the last year, including six underwriters, 20 LOs, 26 processors, 51 admins, and 25 funders.

It is unclear how many employees, if any, are left.

According to a company statement, the decision was driven by the economic collapse triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the dramatic recent increase in interest rates, noting the company has suffered more than a million dollars in losses. The decision on who to layoff will not be based exclusively on seniority, but we may use seniority as a basis.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT SANTANDER BANK (03/05/24)

MARCH 5, 2024 — 320 U.S. JOBS

The bank has announced it has cut 2.4% of its U.S. workforce, or 320 employees, to focus more on digital operations.

According to a company spokesperson, “The bank is evolving its U.S. business, investing in digital capabilities and simplified processes to adapt to changing customer needs. These steps have resulted in an update to our staffing model that impacts a small percentage of our branch colleagues.

MARCH 23, 2022 — 198 EMPLOYEES IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

198 employees in Santander Bank’s East Providence office will be let go on April 8, 2022, as the company stops issuing residential mortgages.

FEBRUARY 16, 2022 — Original post…

Boston, Massachusetts-based Santander U.S., a full-service bank subsidiary of Madrid, Spain-based Santander Bank, has announced that it is winding down its U.S. residential mortgage lending operations.

Approximately 800 employees nationwide may be impacted and layoffs are expected to commence in April 2022.

The decision was driven by internal studies that considered rising interest rates, lower originations, and fiercer competition.

According to the President and CEO of Santander Bank and its U.S. holding company,

Tim Wennes, “We are simplifying our business to focus on those areas where we can be successful with clients and deliver solid returns. We didn’t see a clear path to above cost-of-capital returns and made a decision to stop new originations. The decision should have no immediate impact on customers in Santander’s mortgage servicing portfolio."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?