JPMorgan Chase tells managers to ‘resist’ hiring, do more with less as head count balloons

JPMorgan Chase’s hiring spree of the last five years may finally be winding down.

The bank’s CFO on Monday told investors that starting this year, less of its $95 billion in annual spending will go toward hiring as the bank seeks to do more with less, thanks in part to AI.

“At the margin, we’re asking people to resist head count growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency,” CFO Jeremy Barnum said at the company’s annual presentation to investors in New York City.

Barnum said the bank will continue to hire strategically, and pointed in his presentation to what he called “high-certainty areas,” including bankers, advisors, and branches.

“It should go without saying that we’ll never compromise on safety and soundness and we’ll continue to hire and invest in the high- certainty areas where there is a link between adding employees and growth revenue,” Barnum said.

Despite economic headwinds brought on by tariff turmoil, Barnum told investors that America’s biggest bank by assets is on track for 17% ROTCE (a measure of returns for shareholders) and annual spending of $95 billion.

The comments echo remarks made by CEO Jamie Dimon earlier this year when he told workers at a town hall meeting that “attrition is your friend” and encouraged them to welcome job-stealing AI.

JPMorgan’s headcount has grown more than 23% in the last five years, reporting more than 317,000 employees at the end of 2024, up from 256,981 at the end of 2019.

Following Barnum’s presentation, Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking, took the stage and predicted a 10% reduction in headcount in operations, a division focused on things like fraud, statement and payment processing, and account services.

Lake, who cited advancements in AI for the reduction, said 10% was conservative.

“I would take the over on this projection and bet that we will deliver more,” she said.

Artificial intelligence efficiencies

Barnum said that artificial intelligence would be key to cutting down redundancies.

“It’s actually pretty amazing, and from what certain of my colleagues tell me who are actually trained professional computer scientists, it actually helps them quite a bit too with their efficiency,” JPMorgan’s Barnum said. “It’s not just the amateurs who are helped by these tools. It’s amazing stuff and we have high hopes for the efficiency gain.”

Other firms like Goldman Sachs have also been making deep investments in their AI tech stacks.

Improving efficiencies has been a key theme at the bank this year as Dimon seeks to convince workers that returning to their desks Monday through Friday will help clients, including by boosting productivity.

On Monday, the bank showed investors slides along these lines. One slide showed how the bank boosted productivity in its home lending unit while growing headcount at a slower clip.

The comments come as Wall Street deals with an erratic market tied to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade war pronouncements. While that’s buoyed equities trading volumes, it’s threatened bonus projections for others in the financial industry, and hurt investment bankers and those affected by the stalled dealmaking landscape.

As of Monday, the bank’s stock was trading at about $267 per share, up about 37% over the past year. Last year, the bank earned a record $58.5 billion in net income.

This story is developing. Please check back for additional updates.

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