As COVID cases skyrocket with the Omicron variant spreading across the US, some companies are setting stricter COVID regulations. In an interview with CNBC Monday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon threatened to fire any unvaccinated New York-based employees. The implementation of this requirement could start as soon as the end of the month.
Still, there is a small percentage of workers holding out. The vaccination rate is currently 97% at JPMorgan’s NY location. The company opened back up its office doors to vaccinated workers in December. Unvaccinated workers were still required to stay home. Now remote work is no longer an option.
“To go to the office you have to be vaxxed and if you aren’t going to get vaxxed you won’t be able to work in that office,” Dimon said on Monday. “We’re not going to pay you not to work in the office.”
Getting back to work
Through the pandemic, Dimon advocated for in-person work. For newly employed workers, in particular, he argued that remote work is a disadvantage. “We believe that going to work is a good thing, that people deal with each other [in-person] for innovation and creativity,” he said.
The company is adjusting its vaccination strategies for each region where the bank operates based on the circumstances surrounding Omnicron. “We’re not trying to be consistent because as you pointed out, there are different laws and different requirements and cities and states and schools and so here we’re adjusting locally,” Dimon said.
Citigroup sets the bar
Citigroup was the first major Wall Street company to form a strict vaccine mandate. The company issued a mandate in October demanding all of its employees get vaccinated.Those that don’t comply by the end of the month risk losing their jobs. Citigroup will give an exemption to those with religious excuses or medical conditions.
Other major Wall Street banks have told some unvaccinated employees to work from home, but have not made any vaccination requirements.
