(This story contains offensive language in paragraph 3)
By Isla Binnie
NEW YORK – JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon mocked some employees’ calls at an animated town hall meeting on Wednesday to soften the bank’s five-day return policy.
Employees at the largest U.S. bank complained about internal message boards and chats about losing mixed work arrangements, and a group of people launched an online petition urging Dimon to reconsider.
When asked about work policies in person during staff meetings, he said: “Don’t waste time. I don’t care how many people sign a damn petition,” he said, laughing.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
Instead, Dimon demanded efficiency and emphasized that employees can choose whether to work at JPMorgan. The CEO told them not to be angry with him, saying that it was a free country.
The rollback of remote work policies prompted groans from some workers as Covid-19 locked in. JPMorgan’s call for more workers to come back has brought a lot of complaints, many of whom are from backstage workers.
Nick Wiener, head of the CWA campaign, said some employees seek advice from American communications staff on how to set up unions, a rare thing in the U.S. financial sector.
By Wednesday night, about 950 people signed a petition for the five-day policy. JPMorgan has more than 317,000 employees worldwide.
Dimon, who has operated lenders for 19 years, said some employees were not paying attention in zoom meetings, which reduced their efficiency and creativity.
JPMorgan Chase’s profit soared to a record in 2024, with its share price roughly doubled in the past five years. Excellent performance prompted some workers to question why they need to spend more time in the office.
Dimon said the office’s requests will not be left to the manager.
“I didn’t have a chance to keep it to the manager,” he said. “Zero chances. The abuse that happened was extraordinary.”
Many Wall Street leaders and President Donald Trump shared Dimon’s views on demanding an end to the federal government’s remote working arrangements.
Dimon has asked all departments of the bank to show 10% efficiency improvement, which will require a 10% cut in reports, meetings, documents and training courses.
While at City Hall, Dimon told a story about wealth management matters that required 14 committee approval.
“I feel like I can’t stand it anymore if I want to fire 14 committee chairmen,” he said. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I’m the boss.”
