The reduction in force affected less than 1% of its team, the company said in a statement, confirming information which appeared in HousingWire.

"Following the Mr. Cooper acquisition, we carefully reviewed our combined structure, identified overlapping roles and made the difficult decision to streamline teams," the statement said. 

The Mr. Cooper deal closed on Oct. 1, while Rocket's purchase of Redfin was completed on July 1.

"These decisions weren't made lightly," the statement said. "They reflect change needed to build a focused organization for the future."

Rocket's prior comments on expense reduction

During its second quarter earnings call, Brian Brown, Rocket's chief financial officer warned that for the period set to end on Sept. 30, Rocket would have a $90 million increase in nonrecurring expenses as a result of the two deals.

"Of that, $30 million reflects severance and transaction costs, which will be classified as one-time expenses," Brown said. "The remaining $60 million reflects interest expense incurred from refinancing Mr. Cooper's debt ahead of closing."

In July, it also reduced headcount across some of general and administrative teams as well as Rocket Companies proper, Brown said on the call. These, along with the exit from Rocket Mortgage Canada and the credit card business, will result in about $80 million of annualized savings independent of the merger savings, but the company will not fully realize this in the fourth quarter.

"Impacted team members were provided a comprehensive package that includes 12 weeks of severance pay plus one additional week for each year of service, continued benefits for up to 12 months and personalized transition support such as career coaching and job search assistance," the company's statement said.

Economists comments about capacity and productivity

Back in February, even with all the preceding layoffs at Rocket and other companies, production overcapacity still plagued the mortgage industry, Boston Consulting Group noted.

At the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention on Sunday, its economists warned that productivity among industry workers had fallen below 2018 levels.

Pull-through rates fell to 55% for depositories and 69% for nonbanks in the first half of this year, said Marina Walsh, the MBA's vice president of industry analysis, research and economics.

Mortgage layoffs in 2025

Among some of this year's reductions in force involving other companies' mortgage operations is Oceanfirst Bank, which is outsourcing its originations to Embrace Home Loans and will be letting go of 114 positions.

Mortgage subservicer Cenlar closed its O'Fallon, Missouri office in July, a reduction which affected 93 people. 

Back in April, Amerant Mortgage let go of 58 workers, following a decision to limit its footprint to Florida, where its parent bank is located.

On the technology side of the business, Dark Matter had its own reduction in force of an undisclosed size to align with current marketplace realities, company management said in May.