55 layoffs at Hauppauge home-mortgage office

As part of a corporate cutback costing thousands of jobs across the country, MetLife is closing its home mortgage origination business, a move that will shutter its loan office in Hauppauge and result in the layoffs of 55 workers there, the company said.

 MetLife will close the Long Island office, at 2929 Express Dr. North, by May 31, the company said in a required state labor disclosure, known as a WARN notice.

The layoffs will take place by April 30, the company said in its mandated state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing.

MetLife issued a news release last month saying it is "exiting the business of originating forward residential mortgages," and said it would lay off 4,300 workers at its Irving, Tex., central mortgage origination office. A company representative could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

The MetLife Home Loans division "will no longer accept new loan applications" for home mortgages, the company said in its news release. It will, though, continue to service its current mortgage customers and will keep its commitments for loans already approved.

MetLife Inc.'s primary business is in insurance, annuities and employee benefits programs.

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