Nelnet, a federal pupil mortgage servicer, is reducing employees due to delays within the Biden administration’s debt-relief plan and the continued pause on mortgage funds, the corporate introduced Wednesday.
About 350 staff employed within the final six months might be laid off and about 210 staff might be let go due to “efficiency causes,” in accordance with the announcement. Staff got 60 days’ discover if their efficiency wasn’t an element.
Nelnet began rising its employees final yr to arrange for the one-time pupil mortgage forgiveness program and the restart of funds after the pause was scheduled to finish Dec. 31. Federal courts ended up blocking mortgage forgiveness, which additional delayed the resumption of funds. The administration is planning to restart funds 60 days after June 30 or after the lawsuits difficult the debt reduction plan are resolved, whichever comes first. The U.S. Supreme Court docket will hear oral arguments on the plan subsequent month.
“These selections are by no means straightforward,” Nelnet spokesman Ben Kiser mentioned in a press release. “With the delay of federal pupil mortgage reimbursement by way of a lot of 2023, regrettably, it isn’t possible to take care of elevated staffing ranges for work that can stay on maintain for a major period of time.”
Kiser added that Nelnet hopes many staff will think about reapplying when funds resume.