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GMAC Financial Services is downsizing in Charlotte once again.
The Detroit-based lender this week told state officials it was eliminating 115 jobs as it closes offices in SouthPark and near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.
In the latest cuts, GMAC is laying off 44 employees at a SouthPark call center that had lost about 45 employees in cuts announced in December. Those workers handled customer service tasks for the company’s troubled Residential Capital mortgage business.
In addition, GMAC is laying off 77 employees as it closes an office of its Semperian collections subsidiary. Nationwide, GMAC said it was eliminating a total of about 550 jobs.
The reductions were part of an effort to streamline expenses in both business units, spokeswoman Gina Proia said. The work in the closing facilities is being transferred to larger GMAC locations.
After the layoffs announced in December, GMAC said it had about 470 people in Charlotte. The company didn’t provide an updated figure this week. GMAC said its corporate office in uptown wasn’t affected by the reductions. The company recently moved into a new building emblazoned with the purple logo of its Ally Bank subsidiary.
“We have a substantial corporate presence in Charlotte that has about doubled in size last year,” Proia said. “Despite these business line actions, Charlotte remains an important corporate center for GMAC.”
In March, state and local officials approved more than $4.5 million in incentives to persuade GMAC to expand in Charlotte. In return, the company said it planned to add a net 200 jobs over two years.
GMAC’s Charlotte presence grew under its former CEO Al de Molina, a former Bank of America Corp. executive who lives in Charlotte. De Molina resigned in November at the request of the board, creating uncertainty about the company’s commitment to the city. New CEO Michael Carpenter has called Charlotte a “central part” of the company’s activities.
On Thursday, GMAC, a major recipient of government bailout funds, said it lost $5 billion in the fourth-quarter and $10.3 billion in 2009. Most of the losses were related to its troubled ResCap mortgage unit.
