JPMorgan Chase is pushing about 300 London-based investment banking staff to sign fresh contracts confirming they'll leave the U.K. in the event of a no-deal Brexit, people familiar with the matter said.
The employees, who work in areas such as sales and risk, have been presented with contracts in the last week that demand they relocate to a European Union country such as Germany or France in a no-deal scenario, the people said, declining to be identified as the details are private. A spokesman for JPMorgan in London declined to comment.
The affected staff were warned months ago of the possibility, but with JPMorgan activating its Brexit contingency plans, they now must decide whether to move or risk losing their jobs, the people said. The bank plans to redeploy staff to other roles in order to avoid layoffs, one person said.
JPMorgan's plan mirrors those of other financial institutions that are gearing up preparations for the U.K. to leave the EU. Bank of America Corp. last month began moving about 400 staff to its expanded European operations, and other banks are moving similar numbers.
This month, JPMorgan opened an office in Dublin to house an expanded post-Brexit Irish workforce, with Chief Executive Jamie Dimon helping cut a ceremonial ribbon.
Speaking last week on a call with reporters, Dimon said last week's extension of the Brexit deadline would not remove uncertainty, and warned that a no-deal withdrawal would be a "huge negative" for the U.K. "Brexit is obviously a negative. It's been a negative for a while," he said.
Britain had been set to withdraw on March 29, but the U.K. now has until April 12 to give an answer on whether it will accept the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May or leave the bloc with no agreement.
