Morgan Slashes 170 Jobs at Saxon; CEO Gone

Morgan Stanley has slashed 170 jobs at its newly acquired subprime unit, Saxon Mortgage, including president and chief executive Mike Sawyer, MortgageWire has learned.One source familiar with Saxon said senior managers Jeff Parkhurst (wholesale), John Trapp (underwriting), and Dick Shepherd (legal) have also left the company. A spokesman for Morgan Stanley confirmed the job cuts. The investment banker officially took control of the publicly traded Saxon Mortgage on Dec. 4. The Richmond, Va.-based firm ranks among the top 30 subprime lenders and servicers, according to the Quarterly Data Report. Kevin Rodman, a Morgan Stanley executive, will replace Mr. Sawyer. The Morgan spokesman said Saxon will focus its efforts on "wholesale lending and servicing." It recently closed Saxon's retail division and is consolidating different servicing locations into its platform in Fort Worth, Texas.