CALABASAS, Calif., Oct. 24 (AP) — Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said on Tuesday that it would cut its work force by more than 2,500, or about 5 percent, even as growth in its loan servicing portfolio pushed its third-quarter profit up 2 percent.
Earnings increased to $647.5 million, or $1.03 a share, from $634 million, or $1.03 a share, in the prior-year period. Analysts, on average, had been expecting third-quarter net income of $1.08 a share, according to a Thomson Financial survey.
Countrywide said the cuts would include corporate and organizational jobs in offices across the country. Some of those positions have already been eliminated, the company said.
