In view of the growing threat of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, American multinational banking company, Wells Fargo, has decided to delay the reopening of its working spaces for a large chunk of its employees.
In an official statement, the Bank announced that it would be announcing a ‘return to office’ plan, shortly in the new year. It had earlier set January 10 as the date for a mandatory return to office for most of its employees. The January 10 date was pushed back from the earlier November 1 date because of the rapid spread of the virus.
In a statement, the Company said it would keep the health and well-being of its employees as the top priority. It also reassured that it would closely monitor the local conditions and environment over the coming months.
Out of the company’s 2,54,000-strong global workforce, 1,00,000 had been reporting to offices across locations throughout the pandemic. Wells Fargo maintains that office spaces would remain open to vaccinated employees who choose to use them.
The threat of the virus continues to grow in the US. Currently, Omicron accounts for 73 per cent of the new cases in the US.
This is a significant increment from the one per cent marked at the beginning of the month.
Other major American companies operating in the banking sector that have postponed reopening of offices are Bank of America and Citigroup.
