During the peak of the pandemic, several top executives at U.S. banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, pledged not to cut jobs in 2020 because, " it was the wrong thing to do," according to a Reuters report.

But as restrictions instituted during the lockdown lift, the U.S. is dealing with massive unemployment and a recession, and banks are facing loan losses and layoffs have become the reality.

JPMorgan Chase & Co cut approximately 100 jobs in mid-July; Wells Fargo & Co is cutting jobs after putting layoffs on hold in March, and rumors are circulating the bank is planning thousands of layoffs later this year. " We are at the beginning of a multiyear effort to build a stronger, more efficient company for our customers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders. The work will consist of a broad range of actions, including workforce reductions, to bring our expenses more in line with our peers and create a company that is more nimble, streamlined, and customer-focused," Beth Richek, a Wells Fargo spokesperson said in an email response to ATM Marketplace. "We expect to reduce the size of our workforce through a combination of attrition, the elimination of open roles, and job displacements. We are executing this work in a thoughtful and deliberate manner, and we will communicate openly and honestly with impacted employees and provide severance, career assistance, and other services to assist them."

HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard Chartered PLC have let go several hundred employees this year, according to Reuters. In addition, HSBC is planning to cut 35,000 jobs and Standard Chartered plans to lay off a few hundred more by the end of this year and the start of next year, according to the news report.

ATM Marketplace contacted the banks mentioned for comment on the layoffs, but as of press time only Wells Faro responded .

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