LandAmerica chief cuts jobs, to close offices
By Andrew Frye, Bloomberg News
Published July 8, 2008 at 9:05 p.m.
LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Theodore Chandler said he eliminated jobs in May and June and plans to close offices around the country amid sluggish title insurance sales.
LandAmerica, the third-biggest insurer of U.S. home titles, announced a plan last month to shut offices in Colorado and put sales people to work out of their homes. That reorganization will soon be extended across the country as LandAmerica slashes expenses by as much as half in certain markets, Chandler said in an interview.
"We are rapidly consolidating offices," Chandler said. "You're going to just see it get more and more substantial as we go through every quarter."
LandAmerica cut 4,000 jobs, or nearly 30 percent of its workforce, in the 16 months through April amid the biggest housing slump since the Great Depression. The top three title insurers reported a 15 percent slide in first-quarter orders.
According to No. 1 First American Corp.'s monthly data, that deficit didn't improve in April and May.
"This is a tough environment and everyone is looking for creative ways to save costs and still bring business in the door," said Nathaniel Otis, a Hartford, Connecticut-based analyst at KBW Inc.
Expanding Markets LandAmerica has cut the number of offices to 800 from 1,100 and plans to save more on rent, utilities and equipment by basing its sales staff in their homes, Chandler said.
In Denver and some growth markets, the Glen Allen, Virginia-based company may reinvest the savings in expanding the staff that deals with clients, Chandler said.
"There's a lack of confidence right now among the lenders and among the homeowners because of the incredible pessimism about U.S. real estate," Chandler said.
LandAmerica is accumulating orders at a rate that's "way below" historical levels, Chandler said. The company didn't benefit from a typical jump in orders in the second quarter, he said.
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