Countrywide to consolidate several offices at former State Farm site





By Saria Kraft
kraft@theacorn.com

Westlake Village will feel a surge while other communities feel a pinch as a major local company consolidates its operations.


The fourth largest employer in Moorpark will pull out of town this fall. Countrywide Home Loans is expected to move about a third of its employees from the Moorpark center as early as August, said vice president Rick Simon, a company spokesman.


Personnel are likely to be shifted to other locations within the county, including Westlake Village, or to the West San Fernando Valley.


In March, Countrywide closed escrow on the former State Farm Insurance facility at Lindero Canyon and Agoura roads in Westlake Village. Following renovations this summer, the 257,000-square-foot building is expected to house about 1,300 employees.


A third of the building will be occupied by September, with full occupancy planned for December, Simon said.


Countrywide’s lease agreement in Moorpark expires Oct. 31. The office employs about 560 workers, less than 10 percent of the company’s workforce in Ventura County, Simon said.


"This does not have anything to do with cutbacks," Simon said. "In fact, nationally, we are still expanding staffing levels."


Countrywide currently has more than 600 offices and 35,000 employees nationwide.


"The decision is in keeping with Countrywide’s desire to operate out of owned, rather than leased, properties as the opportunities present themselves," Simon said. "In this case, it did."


Lease agreements for two Countrywide offices on Malibu Canyon Road in Calabasas and one office in Woodland Hills will expire at about the same time as the Moorpark center. Together, the four locations represent 187,000 square feet of office space.


In addition to the Moorpark personnel, many of the Calabasas and Woodland Hills workers will be transferred to the new offices in Westlake Village. Overcrowding was an issue at all four leased locations, Simon said.


Restaurants located near the former leased offices will have a weakened lunch trade, and businesses located nearby will suffer from fewer purchases made by Countrywide employees before and after work and during lunch hours. But those enterprises near the new offices in Westlake Village will likely see increased business.


The company owns five properties and leases another two locations in Simi Valley. Those leases will not expire for some time. The seven offices house a total workforce of 6,200 employees.


Job security in Simi Valley won’t be threatened because there are no plans to relocate the offices in that city, Simon said.



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