IBM Workers Lose Jobs After Asset Sale

IBM is laying off more than 300 employees in Durham, North Carolina, in connection with the sale of a subsidiary announced last week.

According to a notice sent to the state’s Commerce Department, the 310 employees work for Seterus, a specialty loan servicing company and IBM subsidiary. The facility will shut down and the job cuts are effective March 11.

The job cuts come just days after Mr. Cooper Group agreed to buy Seterus from IBM. IBM said it acquired Seterus in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to help a client manage a broad mortgage portfolio, including high-risk loans.

IBM released the following statement: “With the successful completion of the mortgage services contract through which Seterus … helped our client manage the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, IBM has signed a definitive agreement to sell Seterus to Mr. Cooper. Based on the requirements of the sale, the Seterus … facility is being closed.”

The time is “now right to divest this business to a mortgage-servicing specialist, whose domain-specific expertise and scale can further advance this business,” IBM said.

The transaction is expected to close this quarter, subject to completion of applicable regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The sale price hasn’t been revealed.

Last month, IBM reached an agreement to sell Lotus and other related software products to HCL for $1.8 billion. IBM also is acquiring Red Hat Software for $34 billion, by far its biggest acquisition to date. That deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.