Sep 15, 2020 - Economy

JPMorgan sends employees home after they contract COVID-19

Rashaan Ayesh

Photo: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday the bank has sent a number of its employees in New York City home after an unspecified number tested positive for the coronavirus, Bloomberg first reported.

Why it matters: Roughly one week after workers started trickling back into offices after Labor Day weekend, news of the infection was communicated internally, serving as just one example of how the spread of the coronavirus will make it challenging to bring staff back from remote work, Bloomberg writes.

JPMorgan had previously announced that employees would be required to work in their offices by Sept. 21 — prompting praise and congratulations from President Trump.

What they're saying: CEO Jamie Dimon has previously expressed concern that remote work could have some consequences if it's prolonged, and said it makes sense to “carefully open up and see if we can get the economy growing for the sake of everybody.”

Dimon has said worker productivity has decreased as employees continue with remote work.
JPMorgan has been "managing individual cases" of workers testing positive "across the firm over the course of the last few months and following appropriate protocols when they occur," bank spokesperson Brian Marchiony said Tuesday, per CBS News.
Marchiony did not specify how many people had tested positive within the organization.

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JPMorgan sends employees home after they contract COVID-19

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