JP Morgan to Cut 17,000 Jobs

According to a story from the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan is cutting about 17,000 jobs over the next two years. Many of the cuts would come through attrition, but the bank will lay off workers as well, the article reported. The bank will cut around 4,000 consumer banking jobs, which equates to about 1.5 percent of its work force. It also plans to cut another 13,000 positions that will be made in mortgages.

The cutbacks are a part of JP Morgan ‘s bigger cost-cutting campaign. The bank already eliminated around 1,200 jobs in 2012, after adding jobs in 2011 and 2010. The scale-back is an effort to help the bank cut costs by more than $1 billion in 2013.

Job cuts are becoming a common occurrence in the banking industry. Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all slashed jobs in 2012 and many plan to continue this in 2013. BOA plans on cutting more than 30,000 jobs, and Citigroup expects to cut 11,000.

According to the article, Morgan Stanley’s current round of job cuts is targeting senior ranks and investment bankers. JPMorgan said it hopes to find jobs within the bank for displaced workers through a “redeployment” program.