Wells Fargo, BlackRock delay office returns over rising COVID-19 cases

 Wells Fargo and BlackRock announced Thursday that they’re pushing back their return-to-office plans to October amid rising cases of COVID-19.

Wells Fargo, the largest workforce of any US bank with almost 260,000 employees, said it will start calling workers back to the office on Oct. 4, rather than Sept. 7 as previously planned, according to an internal memo from Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell.

“The delta variant does not change the basic facts: vaccinated people are at lower risk of becoming infected with Covid-19, and much lower risk of becoming seriously ill and requiring hospitalization if they do become infected,” Powell wrote in the memo.

Wells Fargo is giving workers eight hours paid time off to get vaccinated.

“Please take advantage of the extra time off that Wells Fargo offers for you to get vaccinated,” Powell added.

Moments after Wells Fargo’s decision was reported, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced they’re also pushing back their return-to-office plans to Oct. 1.

Blackrock had previously announced a “re-acclimation period” from from July 1 through Sept. 1, during which people were not required to come into the office, but any employee who wanted to go to the office had to be vaccinated.

“During this extended re-acclimation period, we will continue to allow only fully vaccinated individuals in our U.S. offices,” the company said in an internal memo, which was obtained by The Post.

“We will provide an update on our Future of Work pilot in early September and appreciate your patience as we work through the details amidst this evolving situation,” the memo added.

BlackRock’s memo was signed by COO Robert Goldstein, global head of human resources Manish Mehta and Chief Security Officer Larry Knafo.

Other top banks are taking a wait-and-see approach. Goldman Sachs, the first Wall Street firm to demand employees work from the office full time, said it’s observing all local mandates, declining to comment further. Insiders say Goldman executives have yet to make a decision on mandating masks or expanding the option to work from home.

Morgan Stanley, whose CEO James Gorman has demanded workers return to the office or face a pay cut, is still demanding workers are back at their desks after Labor Day. The white shoe firm has no imminent plans to change that requirement.

JPMorgan is re-evaluating their policies and considering upping mask requirements — but they have yet to land on a final decision.

Bank of America and Citibank tell The Post they continue to keep an eye on the Delta variant but have no updates.

https://nypost.com/2021/08/05/wells-fargo-blackrock-delay-office-returns-over-rising-covid-cases/