JPMorgan lays off hundreds of employees in mortgage division as rates spike

(CNN) — JPMorgan Chase is laying off employees this week in response to the spike in mortgage rates that has rocked the housing market.

“Our staffing decision this week was a result of cyclical changes in the mortgage market,” JPMorgan said in a statement.

Hundreds of JPMorgan employees will be laid off, while hundreds of others will be reassigned, a person familiar with the matter told CNN Business.

News of the layoffs was first reported by Bloomberg News.

“We were able to proactively move many impacted employees to new roles within the firm and are working to help the remaining affected employees find new employment within Chase and externally,” JPMorgan said in the statement.

The layoffs underscore the wide-reaching impact of the Federal Reserve’s shift to inflation-fighting mode.

Mortgage rates are rising at the fastest pace since 1987 as the Fed moves aggressively to tame inflation.

Not only is that hurting demand for new mortgages, but it’s hitting the lucrative refinancing business, too.

“Refinance is dramatically decreasing. There is not the capacity to support the staffing model, unfortunately,” the person familiar with the matter said.