JP Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse announce job losses

The FTSE 100 in London has lost ground today after the announcement that JP Morgan Chase is to axe over 9,000 jobs at the former Washington Mutual (WaMu).

WaMu was closed at the end of September making it the largest failure of a US bank. Its assets were sold to banking giant, JPMorgan Chase, for $1.9 billion (£1.3 billion).

JPMorgan Chase also bought Bear Stearns in March, making WaMu its second major acquisition this year.

With regard to the job losses, around 4,000 will go at the end of January while the remaining 5,200 will be eliminated by the end of next year.

The majority of the job losses will be at its headquarters in Seattle.

In addition, struggling Swiss banking giant, Credit Suisse is to axe 650 jobs from its UK workforce, blaming current market conditions for the job losses.

Credit Suisse has been one of the biggest casualties of the credit crunch and has been forced to write-off assets worth billions as a result of toxic loans.

Finally, just yesterday HSBC announced it is to shed 500 jobs in the UK, as a result of the current economic conditions. The jobs will go in the bank’s retail and commercial banking units.

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