Goldman Sachs asks employees in US to work from home until January 18

Goldman Sachs told its U.S. employees to work from home for the first two weeks of the year, joining Wall Street competitors that had already given similar instructions as coronavirus cases have surged.

Employees who are able to work remotely should do so until January 18 in response to rising infection rates, the investment bank said in an email to employees. Just last week, the firm announced new booster and testing requirements, but, unlike many of its peers, did not encourage staff to work from home. Goldman called most workers back to the office in June, and its chief executive, David M. Solomon, is a strong advocate of working in the office. The bank has 43,000 employees, many based in its Manhattan headquarters.

The United States is averaging more than 300,000 new cases a day for the first time in the pandemic. And the Omicron variant has prompted big Wall Street companies, which have been eager to bring back workers, to delay those plans. Before the latest surge, office attendance had remained stubbornly low as bankers staged a quiet revolt: Parents are still concerned about passing the virus to their children, suburban dwellers eschew long commutes and many workers have shown that they are productive while working from home.

As the staff trickles back, the financial industry, which employs 332,100 people in New York City, may also have to ramp up its vaccine efforts. Eric Adams, who was sworn in as mayor early Saturday, said he would maintain his predecessor’s private-sector mandate.