Dimon condemns racism against Asian Americans after shootings - memo

Reuters · 03/17/2021 19:02
Dimon condemns racism against Asian Americans after shootings - memo

- JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon on Wednesday told employees that racist acts against the global Asian and Pacific islander communities "cannot — and will not — be tolerated", according to a memo seen by Reuters.

Dimon said youth, elderly and women are experiencing the brunt of these attacks, which are also impacting JPMorgan's employees, families, friends and partners.

"On streets, online and in many Asian-owned small businesses, we are seeing physical assault, verbal harassment and refusal of service ... These racist acts cannot — and will not — be tolerated," he said.

He urged employees to discuss these events in real time with the bank.

Dimon's comments come after eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, were shot dead in a string of attacks at day spas in and around Atlanta on Tuesday. nL1N2LF02C

Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that the suspect in the killing indicated he had sexual addiction issues and may have not been motivated by racial hatred. nL1N2LF1N4

Regardless of the motivation, the killings have intensified fears in Asian-American communities around the country that have been the target of numerous attacks since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic a year ago.


(Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall and Imani Moise in New York and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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