JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), 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.”-Bloomberg
