Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday afternoon that it is planning on cutting up to 12,000 jobs, mainly from its subprime and Alt-A sectors.

The cuts, which follow cuts announced earlier today by Pasadena-based IndyMac Bancorp., could represent as much as 20 percent of the Calabasas-based lender’s employees. Countrywide said the layoffs will be spread out over a three-month period.

Countrywide also added that the cuts are based on current market conditions and could be scaled back if the interest rate environment and outlook for the market improve.

The nation’s largest mortgage lender said that it expects total loan origination volume to fall off by 25 percent over the next year.

Shares in the struggling company have shed more than 60 percent since February. Shares closed down 1.5 percent to $21.41 Friday.