Firing in Job Street: JPMorgan to eliminate 9,200 employees

 

The cuts amount to more than 21 percent of the work force at Washington Mutual, which ended June with 43,198 employees.

Washington Mutual had been the largest U.S. savings and loan before JPMorgan bought its banking assets for $1.9 billion in a transaction arranged by U.S. regulators. The holding company for Seattle-based Washington Mutual later filed for bankruptcy protection.

About 4,000 of the jobs will be cut by the end of January, and another 5,200 later, JPMorgan spokesman Christine Holevas said.

The 5,200 workers will receive double their annual salaries retroactive to October 1, payable in a lump sum when their employment ends, Holevas said.

Seattle will bear the brunt of the cuts, with 3,400 layoffs out of a total of 4,300 Washington Mutual employees in the city, JPMorgan said. Another 1,600 layoffs will be in the San Francisco area, and the remaining 4,200 will be elsewhere.

Most branch workers will keep their jobs. The combined company has about 5,400 branches, and JPMorgan has said it plans to close no more than 10 percent.

Holevas said JPMorgan has not decided the fate of Washington Mutual's headquarters building in Seattle.