Wells Fargo cutting 1,000 jobs

NEW YORK - Wells Fargo (WFC) will close its home lending servicing office in Milwaukee and eliminate 1,000 jobs, saying fewer homeowners are falling behind on payments and seeking help keeping their homes.

In an emailed statement, Wells Fargo & Co. said Wednesday that as the economy has improved over the last two years, it has received fewer delinquent payments, and fewer customers have needed assistance to stay in their homes. The company says it will continue to offer assistance to borrowers facing financial hardship.

Wells Fargo will close the office in late July. It says it will inform employees of other job opportunities within the company.

U.S. employers have added more than 5 million jobs over the last two years and the U.S. economy grew in seven of the last eight quarters covering that period, although there are some signs that growth has gotten weaker in 2015.

Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco and it has about 265,000 employees. Its shares slipped 51 cents to $54.84 in afternoon trading, but have risen 12 percent over the last 12 months.