At a town hall meeting on February 12, a JPMorgan Chase employee publicly questioned CEO Jamie Dimon on the bank’s return-to-office (RTO) policy, leading to the individual’s temporary termination. According to a Fortune story, after upper management intervened, the employee’s termination was eventually revoked for Nicolas Welch.
Welch, a computer operations analyst who has been with JPMorgan Chase since 2017, was one of the people impacted by the bank’s recent directive that all 317,000 workers must report back to work five days a week beginning next month. Up until now, roughly 40% of employees had been permitted to work two days a week from home. Welch, who is divorcing and mentioned childcare and family obligations, asked Dimon if managers ought to have authority over in-office requirements for their teams.
“There is no chance that I would leave that up to managers. Zero chance. The abuse that took place was extraordinary,” Dimon responded, referring to inefficiencies he attributed to remote work. He further criticized employees for wasting time on Zoom meetings and noted that the bank’s headcount had grown by 50,000 in the past few years. Dimon also dismissed a petition signed by employees urging the bank to reconsider the mandate, saying, “I don’t care how many people sign that f—ing petition.”
Before presenting his case at the Columbus, Ohio, town hall, Welch praised Dimon’s leadership. He clarified that his seven-person team works across several nations and time zones, so having a physical office is not a factor in productivity. He went on to say that individual managers should make the judgment about office attendance. While colleagues applauded his comments, Dimon flatly rejected the notion.
Garrett Monaghan, a vice president in JPMorgan Chase’s Technology Employee Support Services (TESS) division, texted Welch urgently shortly after the town hall, requesting that he come to his desk right away. Monaghan and another executive, Jeffrey Todd Merrill, accosted Welch when he showed up for the meeting.
Welch claims that after telling him he had “dragged our whole organization through the mud,” Monaghan directed him to clear his desk and go. Complying, Welch gathered his things and left the building.
Welch thought he was fired for hours. Richard Cundiff, his direct manager, was contacted, but he did not immediately respond. Megan Mead, executive director of global IT support at JPMorgan Chase, didn’t get in touch with Welch until 4:30 p.m. to let him know that he still had his job.She reassured him that she and Monaghan had “smoothed things over.” Monaghan texted Welch later that night to apologize for the altercation and to offer to shake hands and have a beer.
Later, JPMorgan Chase explained that Welch was never officially fired. A representative for the corporation told Fortune, “He didn’t say anything wrong in the town hall.” Welch’s supervisor, Cundiff, rejected Welch’s termination as well, but he would not elaborate.
Welch is still upset about the experience and the atmosphere at work under the RTO mandate, even if he has kept his job. “I want to work at my favorite job the way I want to. “That’s my goal in all of this,” he told Fortune.
Employee conversations have been triggered by the incident, and several have praised Welch for speaking up. He has even earned the nickname “Voice of America” from some JPMorgan Chase employees.
As workers rebel against strict regulations in favor of flexible work schedules, the dispute underscores the rising tensions surrounding return-to-office practices at large firms.
Also Read –
