Ally Financial announces layoffs, to exit mortgage lending

Ally Financial laid off hundreds of employees while also disclosing plans to fully exit mortgage lending.

The company told multiple media outlets that the cuts amount to less than 5% of its workforce. Ally aims to shut down its mortgage lending operations during the first quarter.

“We remain confident in our long-term strategy and our ability to deliver compelling returns given the strong underlying trends in our core businesses,” spokesman Peter Gilchrist told Banking Dive.

“While decisions involving our teammates are never easy, we believe they will help us more effectively and efficiently deliver for our customers and stakeholders, and we’ll continue to be diligent in our expense management going forward,” he added.

Gilchrist also told the publication that Ally was exploring “strategic alternatives” for its credit-card business.