The Full Spectrum Lending unit where the layoffs occurred handles many home mortgages in a category known as Alt-A, or mortgages between prime and subprime that often involve borrowers who don't document their income. Such borrowers typically don't qualify for a conforming mortgage, the type that can be sold to government-sponsored mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Countrywide as a whole employs about 61,000 people, with a sales force of about 6,800 in Full Spectrum out of a total loan-origination sales force of about 18,000 as of June 30, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.