Business
Big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are already using AI to hire fewer people
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.
Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The era of artificial intelligence on Wall Street, and its impact on workers, has begun.
Big banks including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are unveiling plans to reimagine their businesses around AI, technology that allows for the mass production of knowledge work.
That means that even during a blockbuster year for Wall Street as trading and investment banking spins off billions of dollars in excess revenue — not typically a time the industry would be keeping a tight lid on headcount — the companies are hiring fewer people.
JPMorgan said Tuesday in its third-quarter earnings report that while profit jumped 12% from a year earlier to $14.4 billion, headcount rose by just 1%.
The bank’s managers have been told to avoid hiring people as JPMorgan deploys AI across its businesses, CFO Jeremy Barnum told analysts.
JPMorgan is the world’s biggest bank by market cap and a juggernaut across Main Street and Wall Street finance. Last month, CNBC was first to report about JPMorgan’s plans to inject AI into every client and employee experience and every behind-the-scenes process at the bank.
The bank has “a very strong bias against having the reflexive response to any given need to be to hire more people,” Barnum said Tuesday. The bank had 318,153 employees as of September.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg this month that AI will eliminate some jobs, but that the company will retrain those impacted and that its overall headcount could grow.
‘Constrain headcount’
At rival investment bank Goldman Sachs, CEO David Solomon on Tuesday issued his own vision statement around how the company would reorganize itself around AI. Goldman is coming off a quarter where profit surged 37% to $4.1 billion.
“To fully benefit from the promise of AI, we need greater speed and agility in all facets of our operations,” Solomon told employees in a memo this week.
“This doesn’t just mean re-tooling our platforms,” he said. “It means taking a front-to-back view of how we organize our people, make decisions, and think about productivity and efficiency.”
The upshot for his workers: Goldman would “constrain headcount growth” and lay off a limited number of employees this year, Solomon said.
Goldman’s AI project will take years to implement and will be measured against goals including improving client experiences, higher profitability and productivity, and enriching employee experiences, according to the memo.
Even with these plans, which is first looking at reengineering processes like client onboarding and sales, Goldman’s overall headcount is rising this year, according to bank spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli.
Tech inspired?
The comments around AI from the largest U.S. banks mirror those from tech giants including Amazon and Microsoft, whose leaders have told their workforces to brace for AI-related disruptions, including hiring freezes and layoffs.
Companies across sectors have become more blunt this year about the possible impacts of AI on employees as the technology’s underlying models becomes more capable and as investors reward businesses seen as ahead on AI.
In banking, the dominant thinking is that workers in operational roles, sometimes referred to as the back and middle office, are generally most exposed to job disruption from AI.
For instance, in May a JPMorgan executive told investors that operations and support staff would fall by at least 10% over the next five years, even while business volumes grew, thanks to AI.
At Goldman Sachs, Solomon seemed to warn the firm’s 48,300 employees that the next few years might be uncomfortable for some.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, but this process is part of the long-term dynamism our shareholders, clients, and people expect of Goldman Sachs,” he said in the memo. “The firm has always been successful by not just adapting to change, but anticipating and embracing it.”
The supply chain risk designation of the artificial intelligence firm is a first for a US company.
Source link
Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
UniQure needs to run another study to prove that its gene therapy “actually helps people with Huntington’s disease,” a senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on a call with reporters Thursday.
The official, who requested anonymity before discussing sensitive information, confirmed the agency has asked the company to run a placebo controlled trial of its treatment, which is administered directly into the brain. UniQure has said that type of study isn’t ethical because it would require putting people under general anesthesia for hours, a characterization the official disputed.
“So what is really going on? UniQure is the latest company to make a failed therapy for Huntington’s patients,” the official said. “They likely acknowledge or understand at some deep level that their trial failed years ago, and instead of doing the right thing and running the correct clinical study, UniQure is performing a distorted or manipulated comparison in the mind of FDA.”
The comments mark the latest development in a messy public spat between UniQure and the FDA, and as the agency comes under fire for a number of recent drug approval application rejections, including some where companies have accused it of going back on previous guidance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick last week seemingly criticized UniQure’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease. Makary didn’t name UniQure but described its treatment.
UniQure then accused the FDA of reversing its stance that the company’s clinical trial data would be sufficient to seek approval. UniQure’s study used an outside database to measure how patients with Huntington’s disease might decline without treatment, known as an external control. UniQure has said it wouldn’t be feasible to run a true randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, considered the gold standard, because it wouldn’t be ethical to make people undergo a sham hours-long brain surgery.
The FDA official said the agency “never agreed to accept this distorted comparison” and the FDA “never makes such assurances.” Instead, the “FDA will always say, ‘Well, we have to see the data when we get it.'”
UniQure didn’t immediately comment.
The company’s stock rose more than 10% on Thursday and has fallen 58% this year as of Thursday afternoon.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday warned of strict action against any individual or entity found involved in the illegal hoarding of petroleum products at unauthorised locations, particularly at places other than duly licensed oil depots and retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
In a statement, an Ogra spokesperson said: “Any premises found involved in the illegal storage of petroleum products will be sealed.”
The spokesperson assured the public that the country currently holds sufficient stocks of petroleum products to meet national demand and that there is no need for panic buying or hoarding.
In view of the prevailing geopolitical situation, the official said that the authorities are closely monitoring the petroleum supply chain to ensure the uninterrupted availability of products across the country.
“The existing stock position remains comfortable and well within the prescribed requirements,” read the statement.
Reports have indicated that certain elements may attempt to hoard petroleum products for profiteering under such circumstances, the spokesperson said, adding: “To curb such practices, all provincial chief secretaries have been requested to direct deputy commissioners (DCs) to conduct inspections within their respective jurisdictions.”
Meanwhile, teams of Ogra are actively monitoring the situation in the field, the official added.
Inspections are being carried out at oil depots and retail outlets to ensure the smooth supply of petroleum products and to prevent any malpractice, read the statement.
Ogra advised the public not to pay attention to rumours and to maintain normal consumption patterns, as the petroleum supply situation in the country remains stable.
Uninterrupted petroleum supply top priority: FinMin
Separately, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that ensuring uninterrupted availability of petroleum products across the country is the government’s top priority.
The finance czar made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the committee to Monitor Petrol Prices in the Wake of the Emerging Situation in the region, constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in Islamabad today.
The committee was briefed that national reserves remain at comfortable levels, with sufficient cover available for key products, and that there is no immediate cause for concern regarding the availability of petroleum products.
It reviewed multiple supply and pricing scenarios to ensure preparedness under different contingencies and to maintain stability in domestic energy supplies.
The committee will finalise its recommendations by tomorrow for onward submission to the prime minister.
It will continue to meet on a daily basis to monitor developments, review stock positions and supply chain movements, and ensure timely execution across all stakeholders.
The committee also noted that “war premium” dynamics and intensified competition for energy cargoes, particularly in Asian markets, could raise external account pressures if volatility persists.
The body reviewed ongoing efforts to strengthen supply assurance through diversified sourcing and logistics arrangements.
The committee also considered shipping and operational measures to reduce time lags, including facilitation of timely berthing and the use of available national shipping capacity where feasible.
To safeguard orderly market conditions, the committee discussed measures to deter hoarding, illegal storage, and diversion, including coordinated enforcement actions by provincial administrations in close collaboration with the Ogra and relevant agencies.
The committee emphasised that preventing outward smuggling and ensuring uninterrupted domestic distribution will remain a top operational priority, and that real-time field intelligence and strict action against violations will be maintained.
Jayson Tatum, 10 months after Achilles injury, expected to return to Celtics Friday vs Mavericks: report
Maisie Peters surprises fans in Australia with Ed Sheeran
Trump pays tribute to Lou Holtz after legendary football coach’s death
Policy easing drives Argentina’s garment import surge in 2025
What are Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities?
India Us Trade Deal: Fresh look at India-US trade deal? May be ‘rebalanced’ if circumstances change, says Piyush Goyal – The Times of India
-
Politics1 week agoWhat are Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities?
-
Business7 days ago
India Us Trade Deal: Fresh look at India-US trade deal? May be ‘rebalanced’ if circumstances change, says Piyush Goyal – The Times of India
-
Business1 week agoAttock Cement’s acquisition approved | The Express Tribune
-
Fashion1 week agoPolicy easing drives Argentina’s garment import surge in 2025
-
Politics1 week agoUS arrests ex-Air Force pilot for ‘training’ Chinese military
-
Business6 days agoGreggs to reveal trading amid pressure from cost of living and weight loss drugs
-
Fashion7 days agoTexwin Spinning showcasing premium cotton yarn range at VIATT 2026
-
Sports1 week agoSri Lanka’s Shanaka says constant criticism has affected players’ mental health