Ally Financial started cutting jobs on Monday, initiating a workforce reduction that will affect less than 5% of the company's overall headcount.
The Detroit-based firm said the job cuts will occur across divisions and aren't isolated to a single line of business, spokesperson Peter Gilchrist told Bloomberg News in an email. Ally had 11,700 employees as of January.
"Despite a challenging macro environment, we remain relentlessly focused on serving our customers and all stakeholders by making the tough, yet necessary, decisions to guide our business into the future," Gilchrist said. "After taking steps over the past year to pause hiring and manage staffing expenses through natural attrition, we have made the difficult choice to selectively reduce our workforce."
Ally, best known for its auto-loan business, has tightened its underwriting standards — or how the company determines whether borrowers can make their car payments — a move similar to those made by other lenders in the space. Vehicle buyers are increasingly rolling debt from one auto loan to the next, and delinquencies have ticked back up to pre-pandemic levels, leading lenders such as Citizens Financial Group Inc. to exit segments of auto lending altogether.
Those affected by the Ally job cuts will have the opportunity to apply for openings at the company, Gilchrist said.
"We remain confident in our long-term strategy, with a strong balance sheet and nimble, scalable businesses that are poised for future growth," he said.
