The Insult Is Complete At LandAmerica

In August of 2007 I wrote an article, LandAmerica Leaves Much To Be Admired, little did I know that my LandAmerica article would have such a lasting quality. There may be only 11 comments but the consistency tells a condemning story of a company whose management can guide the ship during calm seas but are clueless as soon as the seas get rough.

It looks as if the final insult to the good people at LandAmerica will come from the $150 million in synergies Fidelity National will achieve(from their Press Release) by this merger. To me it doesn’t look like a merger, it looks as if Fidelity is buying their accounts & agents and will be laying off the majority of LandAmerica’s staff that still remains after a year of endless layoffs.

As much as I dislike giving attorneys money, it would seem prudent for the LandAmerica employees to secure legal consul to ensure that they receive any and all compensation promised. At this point of the merger any legal action would have to be dealt with expeditiously. If anyone has retained consul, please post their consuls contact information on the comment section below so others may join as a group.

Good Luck and Best Wishes to all of LandAmerica’s staff.

LandAmerica Leaves Much To Be Admired

From the company website and their Press Release:

"LandAmerica is recognized as number one in the mortgage services industry on Fortune's 2007 list of America's Most Admired Companies."

After a lay off of 700 FTE’s (full-time equivalents), that is what the company calls their employees, earlier this year they announced another round of 1,100 people being sent packing.

With the housing market working off the last five years of speculative excesses, it is understandable that they need to reduce staffing. What I find objectionable is that it is packaged with an additional stock repurchase program and in a way intentionally meant to support the company’s stock price.

In their Press Release they discuss the cuts after the stock repurchase announcement: “Also, as part of an effort to reduce costs…”. There is not the slightest bit of compassion or concern shown, nor will they even refer to the employees as people. They only mention severance because it is part of an expense.

From the company’s website:

"LandAmerica Shared Resources Center in Richmond, Virginia, supports over 900 company-owned offices and a network of more than 10,000 active agents. LandAmerica serves agent, residential, commercial, and lender customers throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Asia."

New artical: The Insult Is Complete At LandAmerica