Wells Fargo eliminates 62 jobs in Durham

Wells Fargo announced today that it is closing a mortgage processing center in Durham, a move that will eliminate 62 jobs.

The decision to close the Durham office and shift its operations to an existing mortgage processing center in Charlotte was triggered by a decline in refinanced mortgages, said company spokeswoman Christine Shaw.

The Durham office is part of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, a division of Wells Fargo Bank.

Last year San Francisco-based Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia after the Charlotte-based bank veered to the brink of insolvency, creating a bank with 6,650 U.S. branches, more than any other bank. But the Durham mortgage processing center was established by Well Fargo well before it acquired Wachovia.

The center's 62 employees are receiving a 60-day notice and will be given special consideration for filling jobs at Wells Fargo and Wachovia. Wells Fargo plans to switch the name of its Wachovia branches to Wells Fargo sometime next year.

Shaw said Wachovia is hiring additional workers at its branches in the Triangle this year to bring them up to the staffing of a typical Wells Fargo branch. The typical Wachovia branch has a dozen workers, two less than than Wells Fargo.

"This was a difficult decision to make," Shaw said of the consolidation. "Our team members are wonderful team members. We will work hard to see if we can find other opportunities for them in our company."

The Durham center processes loans arranged by outside mortgage brokers.