Goldman Sachs tells employees to stay home due to Covid

Goldman Sachs is joining a growing list of Wall Street firms advising employees to stay home due to soaring Covid cases.

The bank sent a memo Sunday encouraging employees who can work remotely to do so until January 18, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told CNN.

Goldman Sachs cited “rising community infections” in the United States.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. signage outside the headquarters in New York, U.S., on Thursday, July 22, 2021. After a year of Zoom meetings and awkward virtual happy hours, New York's youngest aspiring financiers have returned to the offices of the city's investment banks, where they're making the most of the in-person mentoring and networking they've lacked during the pandemic. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Other banks have made similar moves. Jefferies encouraged employees on Monday to work from home until at least the end of January, extending a plan the investment bank imposed a month ago following dozens of Covid-19 infections.

“Realistically, we do not foresee us all having a safe opportunity to be together in our offices until at least Monday, January 31st,” Jefferies CEO Rich Handler and president Brian Friedman wrote in a memo to employees. “We are encouraging everyone to work remotely unless there is a very good reason to be in our office.”

This comes after JPMorgan Chase last week gave employees the option to work from home for the first two weeks of January. Citigroup also told workers to stay home if their roles allow them to do so.

Although some Wall Street leaders have been eager to get employees back in the office, the lingering pandemic has complicated those plans. Some employees are understandably concerned about piling into crowded offices, elevators and subways at a time when Covid-19 is spreading rapidly.

Goldman Sachs said its offices will remain open with safety protocols in place.

The bank recently announced it will require all employees and visitors in its US offices to get tested twice a week effective January 10 and show proof of boosters effective February 1.

A COVID-19 vaccination pop-up site stands in Times Square on December 09, 2021 in New York City. As the fast-spreading new Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in at least 19 states, health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated and receive their booster shots.

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In a memo obtained by CNN, Citigroup (C) asked its US employees to work from home for the first few weeks of the new year if they are able to do so. The bank pointed to the “rise in Covid-19 cases across the US due to the omicron variant.”

“We will continue to monitor the data and provide an update in January on when we expect to be back in the office in a similar manner as we have been,” Citi said in the memo, which was previously reported by Bloomberg.

JPMorgan expects its employees back in the office by February 1.

“Across the US we are seeing a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases related to the Omicron variant,” JPMorgan said in a memo. “With the increase in holiday travel and gatherings, we are allowing for more flexibility during the first two weeks of January.”