ANN ARBOR, MI - Chicago-based MB Financial Bank is shuttering its national mortgage origination business, prompting the layoff of almost 600 employees at locations across southeast Michigan.

In a letter dated April 26, Susanne Griffith with MB Financial wrote 594 employees in Michigan would be impacted by the investment company's move to shut down the section of its portfolio, along with employees in other facilities outside the state.

The letter is a notice as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (or WARN) Act.

Employees affected in Michigan include 364 workers at MB Financials' Ann Arbor facility at 2350 Green Road and 63 workers at the Milford facility at 1050 Corporate Office Drive.

It also includes virtual employees to report to either of the facilities but work remotely from around the state or outside of Michigan, the letter said. MB Financial employees are not represented by a union.

"The layoffs are expected to be permanent and both of these entire facilities are expected to close," the WARN notice said.

The layoffs will start on or around July 2 and continue throughout the year through December 31 at both locations, MB Financial said.

The company also said it would be closing facilities and laying off employees starting July 2 at its locations in Farmington Hills, Northville, Southfield, Taylor and West Bloomfield. The number of affected employees is 25, the notice said.

Representatives of MB Financial could not be reached for comment.

The company employs 3,600 people across the country, according to its website, and holds $20 billion in assets. It offers personal, commercial and business lending and was named a Top Workplace in 2017 by the Chicago Tribune.

MB Financial announced in January it would raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour and also offer certain employees one-time bonuses.

In MB Financials' first quarter earnings report of 2018, the company reported net income of $56.8 million compared to $54.5 million in the first quarter of 2017 but President and CEO Mitch Feiger said the company's original strategy of opening retail locations connected with its national mortgage origination business could not be successfully executed.

"With recent economic changes, the competitiveness of the mortgage industry, and recent low origination margins, we determined that we would be unable to successfully execute that strategy within a reasonable period of time," Feiger said in a statement.

The company will continue to originate residential mortgage loans in the greater Chicago area and offer mortgage servicing from its Wilmington, Ohio operation.