Merrill lays off workers at First Franklin

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. will cut jobs at its mortgage subsidiary, First Franklin Financial Corp.
The company would not specify how many jobs were being cut, but said in a statement that it is adjusting its staffing levels according to current business requirements.
Merrill Lynch shares fell $1.21 to $73.44 in morning trading.
New York-based Merrill bought San Jose, Calif. – based First Franklin for $1.3 billion during last September’s subprime-mortgage boom.
Merrill said then that it expected “the acquisition to be accretive to its net earnings and earnings per share by the end of 2007,” but after precipitous losses in the subprime-mortgage market this summer, the company has followed other major firms in making considerable job cuts in this area.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was the first firm on Wall Street to close its subprime-lending unit and cut employees — 1,200, approximately 4.2% of its workforce — in late August.