New Delhi (India), 16th April 2023: Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., stated that headcount at the biggest US bank is expected to stay flat for the remainder of the year despite increasing by more than 8%.
The New York-based business reported that its total employee count increased to 296,877 in the first quarter from 273,948 a year earlier. A nearly 5% gain was attributed to headcount expansion, higher remuneration, and wage inflation.
Following the release of the bank’s quarterly results on Friday, Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum held a conference call with reporters and referred to the increase in staff as “BAU” – business as usual.
On the other hand in response to inflation, a decline in transaction activity, and the potential for an impending recession, Wall Street has relied on personnel cutbacks and hiring freezes to help limit costs.
Citigroup Inc. has also cut hundreds of jobs this year while Morgan Stanley cut 1,600 workers in December. In 2023, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. began one of its largest waves of layoffs, eliminating around 3,200 workers.
The bank’s move to call its managing directors back to the office five days a week, ending a hybrid-work practise that developed during the epidemic, was also mentioned by JPMorgan executives on the call on Friday.
Dimon said, “We think leaders need to be accessible to their people all the time.” However, he said other employees would be allowed to still allowed to come to office for only three days a week.
