JPMorgan Pauses Reopening As Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19

JPMorgan Chase & Co. sent some of its Manhattan workers home this week after an employee in equities trading tested positive for COVID-19, Bloomberg reported.

News of the infection was communicated to employees on Sunday, just days after the bank told senior traders they’d be required to return by Sept. 21.

JPMorgan remains one of the only banks in calling their workers back, and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon spoke Tuesday about the consequences that come with working from home.

“Going back to work is a good thing,” Dimon said. He added that it makes sense to “carefully open up and see if we can get the economy growing for the sake of everybody.”

Dimon, who has been commuting to the bank’s offices since June, expressed concern about the economic and social damages that come with working remotely.

Dimon also told Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts that productivity has slipped as employees work from home, with output particularly affected on Mondays and Fridays, Bloomberg noted.

JPMorgan spokesman Michael Fusco added that younger workers “could be disadvantaged by missed learning opportunities” by not being in offices.

JPMorgan has been the boldest in attempting to restaff its offices, with an aim of bringing as much as half their workers back to New York in the coming weeks.

Bloomberg found that Wells Fargo & Co. plans to keep most of its staff working from home through at least Nov. 1, and BNY Mellon told most of its workers not to return until at least next year. Citigroup Inc. plans to ramp up attendance in the New York-area starting next month but will cap daily attendance at 30%.

In April, JPMorgan endured a similar outbreak at their temporary New York headquarters, with at least 16 people testing positive on a single trading floor.