https://ift.tt/3t70MR4
Citigroup staff in the United States who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 by January 14 will be placed on unpaid leave and fired at the end of the month unless they are granted an exemption, according to a company memo seen by Reuters.
Many financial firms have pushed back their return-to-office plans and are encouraging staff to get vaccinated and boosted, but Citi is the first to mandate the jab as a requirement for employment.
More than 90% of Citigroup employees have complied with the mandate so far and that figure is rising rapidly, according to a source quoted by Reuters, adding that the timing of the vaccination mandate would be different for branch staff.
“You are welcome to apply for other roles at Citi in the future as long as you are compliant with Citi’s vaccination policy,” the bank said in the memo. “If you are not vaccinated, we urge you to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
The move comes as the highly contagious Omnicrom variant rips up previous assumptions about a return to pre-pandemic working conditions.
Other major Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, have told some unvaccinated employees to work from home, but none has yet gone as far as sacking staff.
Financial Services
