JPMorgan cuts tech worker jobs

(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. lender, is cutting hundreds of technology support employees in its corporate and investment bank amid a revenue decline, people with knowledge of the move said.

Workers in locations including New York, Tampa, Chicago and Dubai were notified of the cuts this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter. Luke Moranda, a managing director in charge of clearing technology, and Dan Cronin, an executive director, were among those let go, the people said.

Wall Street firms are trimming expenses by paring support employees and moving personnel to lower-cost locales amid a decline in fixed-income trading. JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank, run by Daniel Pinto, posted a 12 percent revenue drop to $17.6 billion in the first six months of 2014, while noninterest expenses declined by 1.6 percent to $11.7 billion.

“We continue to be focused and diligent on managing expenses and operating as efficiently as possible across our businesses,” Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said this month in a conference call.
Moranda and Cronin didn't respond to e-mailed messages seeking comment. Brian Marchiony, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan, declined to comment.

Severance packages came with letters explaining that the bank's staffing needs have changed along with “changes in our business,” the people said. Some workers accepted demotions to reduce compensation costs.

JPMorgan has cut about 6,000 employees in the first six months of the year, leaving it with 245,192 workers at June 30 and exceeding a forecast in February that it would reduce total headcount by 5,000. The bank, which acquired Washington Mutual Inc.'s bank units and Bear Stearns Cos. during the financial crisis, is streamlining the group's technology systems.

Low volatility in debt and equity markets and new regulations have crimped trading, leading to Wall Street's worst start to a year in trading revenue since the 2008 financial crisis. An increase in client activity in June failed to carry over into July, Lake said on the July 15 conference call.

“Our general operating assumption is that the next two quarters will continue to have low activity year-over-year,” Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, 58, said on the call. “That could change on a dime, as you know, but that's just how we're going to run the business.”

JPMorgan cutting 8,000 jobs, slimming branches

In an effort to cut costs, the country's largest bank by assets said Tuesday that it plans to slash 8,000 jobs in its consumer and community banking division this year.

That represents a projected 20% reduction in total branch staff from 2011 to 2015. And it comes on top of 7,000 job losses at the branch level over the past two years, according to JPMorgan.

On the upside, the bank is adding 3,000 jobs in other parts of the firm, so the overall job cuts will only total 5,000, a JPMorgan spokeswoman told CNNMoney.

The plan, revealed at the company's investor day conference, is part of a branch overhaul that the bank claims will make it more efficient by utilizing technology for routine banking transactions. JPMorgan said the cuts are in response to growing "customer self service trends."

The cuts at JPMorgan are also partly driven by a drop-off in mortgage financing. Of the 8,000 cuts, the majority will come from the mortgage banking side. While historically low mortgage rates led to a surge in home refinancings in recent years, the bank said in its fourth quarter earnings report that steadily rising interest rates have slowed that trend.

Still, the bank's branch network is an important line of business for JPMorgan, which has added more branches in recent years and doesn't expect a significant change in branch count anytime soon.

Chicago : JPMorgan to cut 145 mortgage employees

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will lay off 145 mortgage employees in its Chicago and Downers Grove offices. The layoffs begin Nov. 22, spokeswoman Christine Holevas said. She had no further comment.

JPMorgan's cuts were disclosed in a monthly state report in which the bank said "restructuring" was the reason for the layoffs. Large banks with significant mortgage operations in recent months have been laying off employees all over the country. Borrower demand to refinance mortgages has dramatically declined due to higher interest rates since the early summer.

JPMorgan to cut 17000 jobs over 2 years to cut 17000 jobs over 2 years

J.P. Morgan Chase stepped up the pace of bank cost cutting, setting plans to eliminate 17,000 jobs by the end of next year and reduce expenses by at least $1 billion annually.

The move announced Tuesday by the New York company, the nation's most profitable bank in 2012 and the biggest U.S. lender by assets, will reduce its staff by 6.5% in one of the most aggressive reductions to date amid widespread financial-industry cutbacks.

J.P. Morgan is considered among the healthiest of the big U.S. banks, but the cuts show that even it isn't immune to the struggle that is dragging down results at financial companies of all stripes—particularly the effect of low interest rates on profits from lending and investing.

The cuts figure to make J.P. Morgan by staffing the smallest among its peers, a group that also includes Bank of America Corp., BAC +0.91%Citigroup Inc. C +0.34%and Wells Fargo WFC -0.11%& Co. The largest, Bank of America, employed 267,190 people at year-end, while J.P. Morgan employed 258,965.

For 2012, J.P. Morgan reported net income of $21.3 billion, up 12% from a year ago and a company record. But revenue was flat at $99.9 billion, amid a slow U.S. economy that has crimped loan growth and a mixed market environment that has squeezed banking and trading profits. Meanwhile, costs inched up 3%. The results were announced Tuesday by Chief Executive James Dimon and other executives during an investor day presentation at the bank's Manhattan headquarters.

Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said a key measure of lending profitability, net interest income, is expected to remain flat this year, although she expects strong loan demand from businesses.

The staff reductions come as the biggest financial firms, many of which grew during the financial crisis by acquiring faltering rivals, accelerate a crackdown on costs. The four largest U.S. banks cut 29,793 jobs last year, according to company filings.

"The industry has elevated costs because of the recession and the financial crisis," said RBC Capital Markets banking analyst Gerard Cassidy. With the crisis mostly past, the big banks "don't need those people anymore."

J.P. Morgan said it would reduce its global staff by a net 4,000 jobs this year and 13,000 next, primarily in the consumer bank and the unit that handles home loans. The majority of J.P. Morgan's cuts in 2013 and 2014 will come from its 45,000-person mortgage group. Kevin Watters, the head of the bank's mortgage operations, said reductions are planned mostly among employees dealing with defaults, which have come down, and among employees related to home lending as volume declines. Mortgages remain "a core product" for J.P. Morgan, Mr. Watters said, and the bank is planning to increase its market share.