ROCHESTER -- JP Morgan Chase will cut 300 jobs in upstate New York due to the downturn in the home equity market.

Chase officials say they will eliminate 300 jobs from Rochester by the end of October and consolidate those operations with larger Chase facilities in Milwaukee and Phoenix.

Chase will still have more than 650 employees in the Rochester area after the layoffs. The workers losing their jobs process home equity loans. Officials say local customers and daily banking operations will not be affected.

The Federal Reserve this month engineered the sale of bankruptcy-headed Bear Stearns Cos. to Chase with a $30 billion loan.