United States based investment bank and financial services provider Citibank Group Inc. (C) said that starting from January 14 it will be sending its unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave. If the suspended employees won’t be vaccinated by end month, they will be fired by the company unless they are granted an exemption.
In addition the company said it’s planning to introduce new vaccinations rules in October. These moves will make Citigroup the first listed company to adopt a very strict vaccination mandate.
Several industry peers including; JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) have also directed their unvaccinated employees to work from their homes however none of them have threatened to sack any unvaccinated staff.
So far, around 90% of Citigroup’s labor force has been vaccinated, an insider source even revealed that more employees are complying with the mandate increasing the number of vaccinated staff rapidly.
The company said it would assess exemptions on medical grounds, religious or any other exemption by state or local law, on a case-by-case basis.
“You are welcome to apply for other roles at Citi in the future as long as you are compliant with Citi’s vaccination policy. If you are not vaccinated, we urge you to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” added Citigroup.
