JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon received a total compensation of $39 million in 2024, the most he’s ever made, the bank reported on Thursday. However, some of his workers are unhappy with their recent bonuses.
According to Fortune, JPMorgan managers began telling the bank’s more than 300,000 global employees how much they earned in 2024 bonuses on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The bank is expected to pay U.S. employees the extra money next week on January 28. Annual bonuses on Wall Street have a long history, dating back to the 20th century when J.P. Morgan himself pioneered the practice by giving his employees a one-time cash gift equal to a year’s salary. According to figures from the New York State Comptroller, seen by the NYPost, the average Wall Street bonus in 2023 was $176,500.
The five U.S.-based JPMorgan employees who spoke to Fortune indicated that they were disappointed with their bonuses, though some tried to look on the positive side and said they were grateful that their numbers weren’t lower. These employees, who worked in divisions other than investment banking (like commercial banking and asset and wealth management), received raises ranging from 2% to 2.7%—far less than the 15% raise in bonuses reportedly received by JPMorgan investment bankers.
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JPMorgan reported its fourth quarter 2024 financial results earlier this month and stated that net income for the quarter was $14 billion, up 50% from the same time last year, while net revenue was $43.7 billion, up 10%.
The bank posted a record-high full-year 2024 net income of $58.5 billion.
All of the employees who spoke with Fortune were aware of the bank’s recent record performance, with one worker stating that they felt “disrespected and undervalued.”
One JPMorgan employee told Fortune that they found out on Wednesday that their bonus only increased by $3,000 from last year, for a 2% raise. They took the rest of the day off from work—so they wouldn’t say anything negative about it.
A different worker said they received outstanding reviews last year yet earned a similarly low raise.
“It just feels like a slap in the face,” they said.
Other employees complained of receiving smaller bonuses than last year.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan informed its staff earlier this month that it is implementing a strict return-to-office (RTO) mandate in March where almost all workers will be required to work from the office five days per week, shifting schedules for the 40% of workers who were on a hybrid schedule.
The announcement sparked internal pushback on an internal company website. More than 300 JPMorgan employees voiced concerns about how the RTO mandate would affect their commute, work-life balance, and childcare costs, prompting JPMorgan to shut down comments about the topic.
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The RTO mandate, coupled with the recently low bonuses, has led some employees to speculate that JPMorgan wants to reduce the number of people in its workforce, per Fortune.
According to a July survey from Bamboo HR, about a quarter of C-Suite executives hoped that strict return-to-office policies would cause employees to quit. Bamboo HR called this concept “layoffs in disguise.”
