Great Western Real Estate Fires 20% of Its Sales Force

A Great Western Financial subsidiary has fired about 20% of its full-time real estate sales force in response to the downturn in the California housing market, a spokesman for the Beverly Hills-based financial institution said Tuesday.

Thirty-nine people were laid off as part of a decision to eliminate Great Western Real Estate’s new-home sales department. The residential property sales arm has nearly 200 employees and 25 offices statewide.

Also being laid off are 162 part-time sales agents in the new-home division, the spokesman said. He noted that the operation was “never very strong . . . anyway, and it has gotten worse recently.” Great Western Real Estate is headquartered in Yorba Linda.

The subsidiary is an affiliate of Great Western Bank, one of the nation’s largest thrifts. The division being eliminated catered to builders who did not have their own sales forces to market homes.

In a letter to the dismissed employees, company officials said “the current trend in the economy and in our market areas is not positive and is expected to continue to depress construction and sales of new homes, and the profitability of builders, contractors and suppliers, as well as real estate brokers offering services to the builders.”