The combined company, to be called J. P. Morgan Chase, would have about 100,000 employees worldwide, with roughly 18,000 based in New York, where both companies have their headquarters. Several thousand Chase employees in Manhattan are scheduled to move into a 45-story tower planned for Jersey City in the next few years. To increase efficiency, Chase and J. P. Morgan will probably move quickly to cut jobs, the analysts said. Generally, the acquired company is the one that loses the most jobs, but analysts say it is unclear how that will play out, given J. P. Morgan's strengths. As far as Mr. Georges was concerned, however, Chase, as the acquiring bank, can be expected to impose most of the cuts on J. P. Morgan employees.
People are worried.
Jon Diat, a Chase Manhattan spokesman, declined to comment in detail about potential layoffs. Company officials said the merger could be completed by the first quarter of next year. There is obviously some overlap between the two organizations. However, there should be a smaller percentage of job loss in New York City than in other mergers. In an e-mail message to employees, William B. Harrison, Chase's chief executive, was a bit more candid.