Listen to this articleThe basics:
- OceanFirst Bank to lay off 114 employees
- Cuts tied to exit from residential loan origination business
- Bank to partner with Embrace Home Loans for mortgage services
- Move follows recent hiring in commercial banking expansion
OceanFirst Bank disclosed 114 layoffs this month in a WARN act filing with the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification posted this month, the cuts at the Toms River-based financial institution are effective Dec. 18.
A representative for the bank confirmed the plan to NJBIZ, citing a “strategic decision regarding [the bank’s] residential loan origination business.”
Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing Jill Hewitt said OceanFirst will begin partnering with Embrace Home Loans in the fourth quarter of this year. “The partnership with Embrace will ensure that residential loan financing options remain available to the Bank’s customers and communities we serve,” she said.
OceanFirst has been in business for more than 120 years. It supports more than 930 employees across its 40 locations with a presence in five states, according to its website. As of June 30, the most recent information available, the organization has total assets of $13.24 billion and deposits totaling $10.35 billion.
While the change affects employees throughout the state, Hewitt noted most work in the residential mortgage business. All affected workers will receive commensurate severance as well as career transition assistance, she said.
“Residential lending has become dominated in recent years by large-scale wholesale mortgage companies and financial technology firms, prompting many banks to re-evaluate their mortgage business models,” Hewitt explained. “By transitioning our residential loan origination business model to this strategic partnership, OceanFirst will continue our focus on growing the commercial bank with significant investments to drive growth and profitability.”
Growing OceanFirst commercial
According to reporting from the Philadelphia Business Journal, the move comes about a year after OceanFirst closed its acquisition of Cherry Hill-based Garden State Home Loans. The publication noted that move added 42 total employees, including 19 loan officers to the bank’s 32. It also highlighted a pivot in planning. “At the time, Stephen Adamo, who joined OceanFirst in March 2023 from Embrace as president of residential and consumer lending, said the bank was investing in its residential mortgage business despite many of its competitors backing away due to the high interest rate environment. The theory was that when rates do drop, OceanFirst would be able to take advantage of a spike in mortgage originations and refinancings. OceanFirst has clearly rethought that decision.”
OceanFirst posted growth in other parts of the business earlier in 2025. According to President and Chief Operating Officer Joseph Lebel, the institution added 49 bankers to its commercial business this year.
“As of June 30, these teams brought in $115 million in deposits across more than 70 accounts representing nearly 200 new customer relationships … These bankers are on pace to achieve our 2025 target of nearly $500 million in deposits by year end, while also contributing to the commercial loan pipeline,” Lebel said during the bank’s second quarter earnings call in July.
“Turning to our residential business, activities increased on the linked quarter basis. But our markets continue to remain impacted by uneven loan demand, volatility in rates and limited inventory,” he added. “The second quarter is typically our low point in deposit balances for the year as government balances decline and seasonal shore businesses consume cash in preparation for the summer.”
Looking ahead
While Q2 earnings missed the mark, looking ahead the focus is on organic growth, according to executives.
“Our primary focus is on the organic growth plan and producing the earnings momentum we think that we need to show,” OceanFirst Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Christopher Maher said on the call.
“This was an investment quarter as we added C&I bankers, launched the Premier Bank, opened a commercial banking office in Melville, N.Y., and opened a new full service branch in Perth Amboy, N.J., all of which increased expenses as we expected and as we had guided last quarter,” Maher said, noting, “We’re seeing meaningful lending opportunities and early success gathering deposits. We expect an increase in net interest income in the third quarter and continued improvement to margins in the second half of the year. ”
The cuts are the latest in the financial services industry to hit New Jersey this year.
Newark-based Prudential Financial announced two sets of cuts (affecting 63 and 57 positions, respectively). Following a July announcement, the most recent came in September. TD Bank notified in spring in would cut 52 jobs from March 31–June 26. The business has its North American base in Cherry Hill.
According to WARN notice data from NJDOLWD, others include:
- JP Morgan Chase Bank
- 121 layoffs announced in February with effective dates ranging to year end, 145 listed in April effective in June, 63 in May effective Aug. 8, and 58 cuts recorded in September effective Nov. 24
- Valley National Bank
- 59 losses announced in August and effective June 13-Aug. 22 of this year
- Ernst & Young
- 130 cuts announced in August and effective Oct. 31.
- Citibank
- 52 filed in July and effective at various points through Nov. 9
- Barclays Services Corp.
- 69 layoffs announced in January, effective mid April through May 1
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. ET on Sept. 22, 2025, to correct the spelling of Joseph Lebel’s name and complete his title.
