A lot of JPMorgan Chase employees are going to be in search of new digs very soon. The firm is expected to shed itself of 4,000 of its own staff — about half of whom will be replaced by incoming Bear Stearns employees.
But not all of Bear's ranks will be calling JPMorgan home. Last month, Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon told investors the bank had decided to offer jobs to 6,000 Bear employees, and to let go another 4,000. There are an additional 4,000 Bear employees about which JPMorgan has not yet decided.
That said, the 500 advisors in Bear's private client group are expected to dodge the pink slipping. In fact, JPMorgan told Registered Rep. back in May that it had no intention of “fixing what's not broken” with regards to Bear's private client group. Many Bear reps now say they're looking forward to working with their new parent company, and trust Morgan to stick to its word about taking a hands-off approach toward the division.
Still, recent news out of a Bear Stearns private client services office in London can't be very reassuring. Last month, JPMorgan notified the team of 30 that it would be shutting the office down by the end of June.
