JPMorgan's Back-To-Office Plan Gets A Pandemic-Sized Setback

JPMorgan Chase & Co’s JPM drive to bring its employees back to their workstations suffered a setback after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

What Happened: Some workers of the Jamie Dimon-led bank had to be sent home after an employee in its equities and sales division tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Post. 

The employee worked at the bank’s Madison Avenue temporary headquarters, and the staff was reportedly notified about the development on Sunday.

The lender told the Post that it has been “managing individual cases across the firm over the course of the last few months and following appropriate protocols when they occur.”

Why It Matters: Dimon has been pushing for a return to the office and told analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a private meeting that the productivity of young employees was affected by working from home.

The lender informed its senior sales staff and trading employees that they would be required to return to offices by Sept. 21, according to Bloomberg. 

The bank’s drive to get employees to return back to their desks evoked criticism on social media.

9:34 am: Dimon Sees Long-Term Damage If People Don’t Get Back to Work
1:22 pm: JPMorgan Sends Some Traders Home After Worker Contracts Covid-19

— Katherine Greifeld (@kgreifeld) September 15, 2020

JPMorgan is not alone in rooting for the traditional workplace. Companies such as Facebook Inc FB and Amazon.com, Inc AMZN have expanded their offices and invested in real estate, taking advantage of the pandemic.

Price Action: JPMorgan shares closed nearly 3.1% lower at $99.28 on Tuesday and gained almost 0.3% in the after-hours session.