Budget Deficit Crosses $3 Trillion
President Trump congratulated JPMorgan Chase after the bank on Thursday asked some top executives to return to their offices later this month.
“Congratulations to JPMorgan Chase for ordering everyone BACK TO OFFICE on September 21st. Will always be better than working from home!” Mr. Trump said in a tweet on Friday morning.
However, JPMorgan has not ordered “everyone” back to the office. The bank asked top managers to return to offices in Midtown Manhattan and London starting Sept. 21, according to two employees familiar with the matter.
The request applies to perhaps 600 senior managers, according to one of the people, who was not authorized to speak publicly. But it’s not clear how many will actually come back right away: The bank, like other institutions that are beginning to reopen, said it would make exceptions for employees who faced health problems or child-care hurdles.
The request, which was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, was directed at the investment bank’s top echelons of management, but the hope is that other executives will follow if the transition goes smoothly and virus infection rates in New York remain low. (Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, has been working from the office for the latter half of the summer, after recovering from heart surgery earlier this year.)
Other large organizations, including Goldman Sachs and the National Football League, have begun encouraging workers to return to the office to varying degrees. But even for workers who long for a return to the office, logistical hurdles abound, including erratic school schedules. New York City’s plan includes in-person sessions, but some students might be on the classroom for one day in a given week.
American Express on Thursday said it was reopening its New York and London offices at 10 percent capacity, but extended its deadline for employees to return to the office to June 30, 2021.
Top Wall Street bosses have taken differing approaches.
David Solomon, Goldman Sachs’s chief executive, has worked from the office nearly every day since March, and encouraged partners and other senior executives to return this summer. But James Gorman, the Morgan Stanley chief who has recovered from the virus, has taken a more conservative stance. He did not return to the office until early July and then only for part of the week. His fear, say employees: His presence could place tacit pressure on workers to return to the office before they are ready.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09/11/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus