AmeriCredit Consolidates Collections Operations
FORT WORTH, Texas--April 1, 2004--AmeriCredit Corp. :-- Continuing to align infrastructure size with business needs
-- Closing Jacksonville, Fla., collections center
-- Retaining centers in all other locations
AmeriCredit Corp. has consolidated its collections operations today by closing its center in Jacksonville, Fla. Collections activity previously conducted there has been transferred to the company's other four centers in the Arlington, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Peterborough, Ontario (Canada), areas.
The closing eliminates approximately 225 positions at the Jacksonville center, which opened in June 2001. All displaced employees were notified in-person earlier today and will receive severance benefits and outplacement assistance.
AmeriCredit is consolidating its collections operations to better align the numbers of collections employees and centers with current and future business needs. In 2003, the company reduced its quarterly loan origination volume, and the size of its loan portfolio declined by 20 percent. While the company has begun growing its loan origination volume this year, it doesn't expect to grow the portfolio again until 2005.
"The employees in Jacksonville have done a good job for us, but with a smaller portfolio we don't need as many collectors or as much collections capacity going forward as we've had in the past," said AmeriCredit Chief Operating Officer Mark Floyd. "By closing that facility and retaining centers in the other four areas, we now have the right numbers of people and facilities we need for the foreseeable future."
AmeriCredit Corp. is a leading independent middle-market auto finance company. Using its branch network and strategic alliances with auto groups and banks, the Company purchases retail installment contracts entered into by auto dealers with consumers who are typically unable to obtain financing from traditional sources. AmeriCredit has more than one million customers and approximately $13 billion in managed auto receivables. The Company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit www.americredit.com.