Wells Fargo lays off mortgage bankers days after rewarding some with California retreat

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Wells Fargo laid off hundreds of mortgage bankers this week as part of a sweeping round of cuts triggered by the bank's recent strategic shift, CNBC has learned.

The layoffs were announced Tuesday and ensnared some top producers, including a few bankers who surpassed $100 million in loan volumes last year and who recently attended an internal sales conference for high achievers, according to people with knowledge of the situation.  

Under CEO Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo is pulling back from parts of the U.S. mortgage market, an arena it once dominated. Instead of seeking to maximize its share of American home loans, the bank is focusing mostly on serving existing customers and minority communities. The shift comes after sharply higher interest rates led to a collapse in loan volumes, forcing Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other players to cut thousands of mortgage positions in the past year.

Those cut this week at Wells Fargo included mortgage bankers and home loan consultants, a workforce spread around the country who are compensated mostly on sales volume, according to the people, who declined to be identified speaking about personnel matters.

The company cut bankers who operated in areas outside of its branch footprint and who therefore didn't fit in the new strategy of catering to existing customers, the people said. That includes bankers across the Midwest and East Coast, one of the people said.

Some of those people were successful enough last year to be flown to a resort in Palm Desert, California, for a company-sponsored conference earlier this month. Palm Desert is a luxury enclave known for its warm weather, golf courses and proximity to Palm Springs.

It's common practice in finance to reward