JPMorgan Chase and Co, the biggest US bank, said today it would eliminate about 8,000 jobs in the consumer and mortgage banking units this year as demand for refinancings declines. The reductions would bring total staffing cuts to 24,500 in the two divisions since the start of 2013.

Last year, the firm said it would eliminate as many as 19,000 in the two divisions by the end of 2014. Competitors including Wells Fargo and Bank of America have been dismissing people as higher interest rates discourage the refinancings that banks relied on to fuel profits.

JPMorgan employed 251,196 at the end of 2013, a decrease of 7,557 from the previous year, the company said in its quarterly earnings statement. Mortgage banking results and applications slipped in the fourth quarter and JPMorgan said last month that “revenues will continue to be challenged.”

Bloomberg