JPMorgan Chase Embraces AI to Reduce Workforce and Boost Efficiency

JPMorgan Chase wants bosses to 'resist' hiring and use AI

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) hired 60,000 people in the last five years, increasing its workforce by 23%. It looks like that's about to grind to a half. Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan's chief financial office, told investors at meeting in New York on Monday that the bank is telling managers to take a beat on hiring. "We're asking people to resist head count growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency," he said in remarks reported by Business Insider. AI will be a big part of that, he said, resulting in a 10% staffing reduction in divisions such as account services, processing, and fraud. "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. JPMorgan's CEO of consumer and community banking, Marianne Lake, was bullish on AI's effect on efficiency, Business Insider reports. "I would take the over on this projection and bet that we will deliver more," Lake said at the meeting. Future hires will be strategic, Barnum said, primarily bankers and advisors in "high-certainty areas." They'll also be highly unlikely to workl from home, after CEO Jamie Dimon recently railed against the practice at a town hall with employees, saying, "You can't learn working in your basement. In the same meeting, he told employees that "attrition is your friend. "We could be far more efficient, and we should always be thinking that way," he said. "I think reducing bureaucracy literally will reduce cancer." JPMorgan last month reported first-quarter earnings of $5.07 per share on revenue of $46.01 billion, topping analyst expectations as profit rose 9% to $14.64 billion.

JPMorgan Chase Says AI Could Cut Headcount By 10% in Some Divisions: 'We Will Deliver More'

JPMorgan Chase is trying to use AI to cut down its headcount. At the company's annual investor day on Monday, JPMorgan's CEO of consumer and community banking, Marianne Lake, 56, gave a presentation predicting that AI would allow the bank to reduce employee numbers by 10% in the operations and account services departments. The operations division processes statements and payments, while the account services unit manages day-to-day transactions. Related: JPMorgan Says Its AI Cash Flow Software Cut Human Work By Almost 90% Lake, who runs Chase Bank and its credit card business, said that 10% was a modest estimate -- the bank would most likely "deliver more" in headcount reductions. "I would take the over on this projection and bet that we will deliver more," Lake said, per Business Insider. She did not disclose a timeline for when the workforce reductions would occur or which roles they would impact. JPMorgan's Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Barnum, 52, disclosed at the same investor day event that the bank would spend less than $95 billion on hiring this year as AI makes operations more efficient. That's a drop from $200 million in hiring efforts in 2023 and $100 million in 2024. "We're asking people to resist headcount growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency," Barnum stated, per BI. "It's not just the amateurs who are helped by these [AI] tools. It's amazing stuff, and we have high hopes for the efficiency gain." JPMorgan's headcount has grown in recent years, swelling over 20% from 255,350 employees in 2020 to over 317,000 in 2024. At the same time, the bank's net income has doubled from $29.13 billion in 2020 to a record-high $58.5 billion in 2024. Related: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Isn't Worried About AI Taking Over Jobs -- Here's Why At JPMorgan's investor day, investors were eyeing the executives who could possibly take over the CEO position from Jamie Dimon when he retires within the next four years. According to The Wall Street Journal, Lake is a top contender for the CEO spot. She started at the bank as an accountant and eventually became Chief Financial Officer from 2013 to 2019, before being promoted to her current position. The other two CEO hopefuls are reportedly the co-heads of JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank, Doug Petno, 59, and Troy Rohrbaugh, 55. Petno started as an investment banker at JPMorgan before eventually becoming the CEO of commercial banking from 2012 to 2024. Rohrbaugh joined JPMorgan in 2005 as a managing director and was previously the head of Macro Markets, which includes the bank's foreign exchange and emerging markets businesses. Related: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Shares Four Tips for Leaders Dimon said on Monday at the investor event that he still intends to retire as CEO within the next four years, though he and JPMorgan have yet to publicly announce a successor. "What we've told you is that the board has intent... to be thinking about succession, and we should be doing that," Dimon said, per Barron's.