Strong earnings are proving to be little protection against job cuts. Throughout 2026, major banks have continued reducing staff even as several report rising revenue and profits.
While reasons vary, the reductions reflect broader efforts to simplify operations, consolidate business functions and redirect resources toward technology.
JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, is among the financial giants continuing to eliminate positions despite expanding its overall workforce.
The company has disclosed another round of layoffs in New Jersey, adding to hundreds of previously announced job reductions across multiple states this year.
JPMorgan Chase announces 6th round of New Jersey layoffs
JPMorgan Chase has disclosed another 91 job cuts at its Jersey City operations, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor’s official 2026 WARN archive.
According to the notice, job cuts will occur between Oct. 30, 2026, and Jan. 24, 2027, marking the bank’s sixth WARN notice in the state since the beginning of 2026.
The six notices covered:
- February: 120 employees, effective May 3
- March: 134 employees, effective June 20
- May: 51 employees, effective Aug. 3
- July: 173 employees, effective July 8
- August: 63 employees, with effective dates between Aug. 19 and Nov. 15.
- November: 91 employees, with effective dates between Oct. 30, 2026, and Jan. 24, 2027.
Together, the six filings cover 632 positions in Jersey City during 2026.
The state archive does not identify which departments are affected by the latest reductions or explain the reasons behind them.
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In a statement provided to NJ.com, JPMorgan said the changes were part of its regular management of business needs, including creating new positions and eliminating others when necessary.
The bank also said it employs more than 12,500 people in New Jersey and has approximately 850 open positions.
“This impacts a small number of local employees and we are working hard to redeploy them,” JPMorgan said.
JPMorgan Chase previously announced layoffs in Texas and California
The latest New Jersey reductions follow earlier workforce cuts affecting the bank’s operations in other states.
In June, JPMorgan notified the Texas Workforce Commission that it would permanently eliminate 244 positions at its Plano campus after deciding to discontinue its Consumer & Community Banking FCPS inbound call-center function.
According to the original WARN notice previously reviewed by TheStreet, the reductions were concentrated in fraud-related positions.
Of the 244 affected employees, 204 held Fraud Specialist I or Fraud Specialist II positions, while the remaining cuts involved supervisors, managers and other support roles. Affected employees were notified on June 23, with terminations scheduled to begin August 21.
The bank said eligible workers would receive severance benefits, assistance seeking internal positions and potential relocation support.
Separately, California’s official WARN records show JPMorgan disclosed another 53 permanent layoffs at its San Francisco operation, effective May 21.
Together, the eight identified WARN notices across New Jersey, Texas and California cover at least 929 positions during 2026.
The figure represents positions covered by the identified notices, not a confirmed nationwide total of completed layoffs.
JPMorgan’s workforce grows despite repeated layoffs
The regional reductions come as JPMorgan Chase continues expanding other parts of its business.
According to the bank’s latest Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 3, JPMorgan employed 322,964 people worldwide as of September 30, 2026.
This compares with 318,153 employees a year earlier, representing a net increase of 4,811 workers.
The company’s workforce has also expanded during every quarter of 2026, adding a net 4,452 employees since December 2025.
JPMorgan Chase workforce changes in 2026
|
Reporting period |
Total employees |
Change from previous quarter |
|
December 31, 2025 |
318,512 |
— |
|
March 31, 2026 |
320,079 |
+1,567 |
|
June 30, 2026 |
320,560 |
+481 |
|
September 30, 2026 |
322,964 |
+2,404 |
|
Net change in 2026 |
+4,452 |
Source: JPMorgan Chase’s third-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q.
The employment changes have occurred alongside improved financial performance. JPMorgan reported third-quarter net income of approximately $15.3 billion, up 6% from $14.4 billion during the corresponding period last year.
Managed revenue increased 8% year over year to $50.9 billion.
However, the bank’s expenses also increased.
During the Oct. 13 earnings call, CFO Jeremy Barnum said expenses rose 12% year over year to $27.3 billion, driven partly by higher business activity, front-office hiring and wage inflation.
JPMorgan has also continued investing in artificial intelligence and automation across its operations. During the same call, Barnum discussed the potential for generative and agentic AI to improve productivity, including in software engineering.
However, he acknowledged that the financial benefits of newer AI technologies were not yet clearly reflected in the company’s reported results.
The figures illustrate how a financial institution can increase its overall workforce while eliminating positions in individual business functions and geographic markets.
Other major banks continue cutting jobs in 2026
JPMorgan’s reductions are part of a broader pattern across the U.S. financial industry, although the reasons behind individual restructuring programs differ.
In April, PNC Bank disclosed plans to eliminate approximately 777 positions in Lakewood, Colorado, following its acquisition of FirstBank Holding Company.
As TheStreet previously reported, the reductions were tied to the integration of the two institutions following a transaction valued at more than $4.1 billion.
American Express also announced a major restructuring in October, planning to eliminate approximately 5% of its global positions after expanding its workforce over the previous two years.
As TheStreet reported, the restructuring could affect approximately 3,500 jobs and was accompanied by a $336 million restructuring charge.
Wells Fargo has also continued reducing positions across several states.
In a Nov. 6 report, TheStreet found that Wells Fargo’s workforce shrank by 10,829 employees during the first nine months of 2026, even as the bank reported stronger financial results.
Compared with September 2025, Wells Fargo’s workforce declined by 16,452 employees, or approximately 8%.
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The contrast with JPMorgan is significant. While Wells Fargo has steadily reduced its overall headcount, JPMorgan has continued adding employees despite repeated regional layoffs.
Interestingly, some of the latest reductions at both banks involve fraud-related operations. In Virginia, 82 of the 87 positions affected by three recent Wells Fargo WARN notices were associated with fraud and claims functions.
Those cuts follow JPMorgan’s decision earlier this year to eliminate more than 200 fraud-specialist positions at its Texas operations.
However, the broader industry data presents a more nuanced picture.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’s October 2026 report, financial-sector employers announced 24,540 job cuts during the first 10 months of the year, approximately 50% fewer than the 48,968 announced during the comparable period in 2025.
While financial-sector job-cut announcements have declined overall, continued restructuring at major institutions shows that strong earnings do not necessarily translate into job security.
AI could reshape employment at major banks
Alongside traditional restructuring, artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important consideration in how financial institutions plan their future workforces.
During JPMorgan’s October earnings call, Barnum discussed the potential for generative and agentic AI to improve productivity across multiple business functions. He explained that although earlier machine-learning technology had already delivered benefits in areas such as consumer fraud prevention, the potential financial impact of newer AI tools remained difficult to quantify.
Barnum also noted that some productivity gains could be offset by the costs of operating AI models.
The discussion comes as other major banks consider how the technology could change their staffing requirements.
At the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference on Sept. 15, Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo discussed how AI could help employees complete tasks more efficiently across technology, legal, finance, operations and call centers.
“It will bring headcount down more,” Santomassimo said, according to a transcript of the conference.
The role of AI in employment decisions is also reflected in national data.
According to Challenger’s October report, U.S. employers across industries cited artificial intelligence in 121,401 announced job cuts through October, representing approximately 20% of all cuts announced during the period.
However, JPMorgan has not directly attributed its latest layoffs in New Jersey to artificial intelligence and the bank’s workforce figures show that overall employment continues to grow despite continued layoffs.
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