JPMorgan plans cut 3,000 more jobs this year
Bank says, will cut a total of 4,000 jobs in the unit by the end of 2014
New York: JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank by assets, is cutting 3,000 more jobs this year than previously planned in its card and mortgage business units.
The bank said in February that it was planning to eliminate about 2,000 jobs this year in its card, merchant services and auto unit, but now says that it will have cut a total of 4,000 jobs in the unit by the end of 2014. JPMorgan will also eliminate more jobs in its mortgage unit, reducing up to 7,000 positions in that part of the bank, compared with an earlier target of 6,000.
The New York bank employs about 242,000 employees worldwide, according to its most recent earnings release.
The figures were disclosed in a presentation made Friday by Gordon Smith, CEO of Chase Consumer & Community Banking. He was speaking at the BancAnalysts Association of Boston Conference in Boston.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., which reported net income of $5.6 billion in the third quarter, is seeking to cut expenses at its consumer banking unit by $2 billion between 2014 and 2016, according to the presentation.
The lender is cutting costs in its mortgage unit as demand for home refinancing has waned as rates have started rising. The average U.S. long-term mortgage rate for a 30-year loan rose to 4.02 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The rate was 3.41 percent in January of last year.
The bank is also trying to cut the costs through greater use of technology.
For example, by encouraging more customers to use electronic statements instead of paper ones, the bank estimates that it can save about $100 million in paper and mailing costs by 2016. Smith estimates that the cost of a mailing statement is about 50 cents, compared to a cost of less than 1 cent for one that is sent electronically.