JP Morgan Chase new hires despite shutting branches

JP Morgan is conducting a hiring drive despite reducing its total number of operating branches by 3% in Q2. New hires are expected across all areas of the bank, but will be most heavily concentrated within its technology unit. In addition, 18,000 of JP Morgan's lower-tier employees will receive pay increases while compensation expenses may increase for all staff at the bank.

JPMorgan Chase is still shutting down branches — which makes it a lot like most banks these days. Where it's different is that it's still adding tellers and other branch workers.

The bank, which topped Wall Street expectations Thursday on the top and bottom line, is adding tellers, tech staff and commercial bankers, JPMorgan CFO Marianne Lake said on the company's earnings call. While the addition of technology workers at JPMorgan is nothing new, taking on more staff in other areas represents a reversal of a trend that's been going on not just there, but across the industry.

Head count rose by 1 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, to more than 240,000 staffers. Compensation expenses increased slightly as well, the bank said. CEO Jamie Dimon announced earlier this week that 18,000 of JPMorgan's lower-tier employees will get pay increases from $12 an hour to $16.50 an hour, depending on factors like geography and the markets where they work.

Even as it has been hiring, however, the total number of branches run by the bank declined by 3 percent in the quarter, compared with a year earlier. It fell by 1 percent quarter to quarter. JPMorgan now runs 5,366 branches, according to the earnings report.