WaMu Lays Off 1,200 More Workers

Washington Mutual Inc., the nation’s largest savings and loan and one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders, cut 1,200 jobs Thursday, about 2.6 percent of its workers, in an effort to return to profitability.

(Realtor) -- WaMu said in a statement that the layoffs were primarily among the home loan staff and support personnel. The announcement came a day after WaMu announced that it would no longer offer “option” adjustable rate mortgages. The cuts follow an earlier round of layoffs. In December, the thrift cut more than 3,100 employees as it shut down its subprime lending business and closed home loan centers.