- JPMorgan Chase CEO and chairman Jamie Dimon is known for his candor and steadfast resolve in his approach to doing business. When he was asked in January about JPM’s DEI work and the potential for activists to use it to bully the bank, he said: “Bring them on. We are going to continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the veterans community.” But his leaked comments reported this week struck a markedly different tone.
JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon isn’t all that sold on unconscious bias training and he might just be on his way to canceling it, according to comments reported by Bloomberg from a town hall in Ohio this week.
Dimon reportedly told employees in the discussion that the bank has probably spent excessively on some DEI-related programs. “I was never a firm believer in bias training,” Dimon said, according to a recording heard by the news outlet.
In his remarks, Dimon reiterated the bank’s commitment to improving society and said the company’s approach to diverse employees and communities would stay the course. Yet, he reportedly added: “I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid sh-t, and it really pissed me off,” Dimon said. “I’m just gonna cancel them. I don’t like wasted money in bureaucracy.”
While Dimon is famously frank, the tone of his reported comments represents a hard pivot from the bank’s statements over the years to investors in letters and reports. JPMorgan did not respond to a request for comment on Dimon’s comments or which learning modules he wants to scrap.
In 2021, JPMorgan Chase launched a training program for all employees called “You Belong Here: Building a More Inclusive JPMC.” At the time, the bank pledged to investors that it enhanced its listening strategies and devised a system for holding senior managers accountable for strengthening its approach to company-wide DEI priorities.
“As part of the firm’s Path Forward commitment, we established an executive accountability framework that strengthens the way the firm incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion priorities and progress into year-end performance evaluations and compensation decisions for (operating committee) members and their direct reports,” the firm told investors.
But based on Dimon’s recent comments, “You Belong Here” might not belong at JPMorgan for much longer.
Following the brutal murder of George Floyd in 2020, large-cap influential public companies pledged financial commitments and created new DEI initiatives. JPMorgan was among them and even ahead of the game.
In 2019, Dimon and JPMorgan board member Mellody Hobson together announced Advancing Black Pathways, a program dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap and helping Black families build wealth. Hobson, who is also co-CEO and president of asset management firm Ariel Investments, served on the advisory council along with high-profile leaders including James Bell, Condoleezza Rice, Soledad O’Brien, and even actor and comedian Kevin Hart.
In October 2020, JPM announced it would invest $30 billion over five years to “advance racial equity and help combat systemic racism within the communities in which we work.” It referred to the $30 billion commitment as “Our Path Forward.” The commitment went to lending and equity investments, philanthropic capital, and products and services related to increased homeownership. It also went toward accelerating investment in employees and building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, among others.
By December 2023, the firm reported nearly $31 billion of progress toward its objectives and alerted investors in its annual Environmental and Social Governance report that it would continue working beyond the five-year timeframe to complete 18 areas it identified as part of the overall program. That year, the firm required all its new employees to complete firmwide DEI training programs, including You Belong Here and a “Culture & Conduct” training. JPMorgan also gave all its employees the option of supplemental DEI training on other topics.
JPMorgan did not comment on which programs Dimon thought were unnecessary.
The company also has 10 business resource groups (BRGs) across JPMorgan including groups for Black, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, veterans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and disabled and neurodivergent employees. JPM has also established seven “Global DEI Centers of Excellence.”
The racial equity commitment was also a frequently discussed topic in JPMorgan’s annual series of meetings between board members, senior executives and key shareholders. It was included in the list of topics discussed with shareholders in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The firm hasn’t published its annual proxy report for 2024 yet.
