Wells Fargo pushing back return to office

Wells Fargo & Co. said it will push back plans for employees to return to the office amid the ongoing spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant, Reuters reported.

The bank had previously scheduled a mandatory return to the office for many employees on Jan. 10, but said on Tuesday that it is delaying that return “given the changing external environment,” according to Reuters.

Wells Fargo had 254,000 employees as of the end of September, according to Reuters. Approximately 100,000 employees for the bank have reported in-person throughout the pandemic, the company said in a statement, per the wire service, adding that Wells Fargo offices are open to vaccinated employees who wish to return to them.

Wells Fargo follows other U.S. companies, including Apple and Ford, that have pushed back planned returns to the office in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. are allowing New York City-based employees to work remotely during the holiday period, Reuters reported. As of their reporting, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had not told its employees they could do the same.

This comes as the U.S. is dealing with another wave of COVID-19 infections as the highly infectious omicron variant spreads across the country, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released on Monday showing that the strain now accounts for 73 percent of U.S. cases of the virus.

Wells Fargo said it will announce new plans for a full return in 2022, according to Reuters.