Ford Motor Credit to close Henderson office, leaving 200 jobless

By Kyle B. Hansen

Published Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011 | 4:56 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011 | 6:05 p.m.

Ford Motor Credit Co. is closing its Henderson office and will lay off about 200 people, the company said Thursday.

The office will close March 31, spokeswoman Margaret Mellott said.

The employees will be offered severance packages, she said.

Ford Motor Credit cut more than half of the employees at the office nearly two years ago, citing lost revenue and the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

At that time, the office was transitioned from a full-service center to a specialty center that only handled collections and account servicing while other tasks, like originating new contracts, were redistributed to other centers.

Mellott said the closure is the result of an overstaffing of collection offices and a reduction in need for the services.

Rep. Joe Heck released a statement saying the layoffs underscore the need to focus on creating jobs.

“I planned to wait to announce the formation of my economic advisory council, but perhaps now is the appropriate time because I want these people – and all Nevadans – to know that I am focused on stabilizing and growing our economy so we are talking about 200 new jobs, not 200 lost jobs,” he said.