Citigroup to dismiss employees who refuse vaccination

Citigroup will dismiss unvaccinated employees by the end of the month as it presses on with a vaccine requirement that the company announced in October.

The bank has given staff based in the United States a deadline of Jan. 14 to submit proof of their inoculations against the coronavirus or request religious, medical or legal exemptions, according to a person familiar with the policies, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Workers who do not comply with the mandate will be placed on unpaid leave Jan. 15 and fired Jan. 31, the person said. The person added that some staff might not receive year-end bonuses unless they signed documents agreeing not to sue the company.

More than 90 percent of Citigroup’s 65,000 U.S. employees have complied with the requirement, the person said.

Vaccine rules are a delicate issue for Wall Street firms and other large employers. Jpmorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, has not imposed a requirement but said at the end of last year that government mandates could make it “difficult or impossible” for the company to continue to employ unvaccinated staff. Bank of America does not require inoculation as a condition of employment, either, but it has strongly encouraged staff to get vaccinations and boosters, and has asked workers to inform the company of their status.

Members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, in arguments Friday, seemed skeptical that the Biden administration has the legal power to mandate large employers to require COVID-19 vaccinations or frequent testing. Across the nation’s biggest banks, policies around in-person work, vaccination and testing vary widely. Citigroup’s stance, which is among the strictest, is being resisted by some employees.

“They’re not leaving people any choice,” Ben Shittu, a 37-year-old software engineer at Citigroup in Ireland, said Thursday. He has refused to be inoculate, citing concerns about the efficacy and side effects of the new vaccines.

Shittu said he had felt compelled to post a video opposing the bank’s policy after a contentious team meeting in November, during which his manager told employees that their jobs depended on getting the vaccine. Since then, Shittu said, he has been inundated with supportive messages from fellow workers. Staff members have also taken to discussing their concerns on private messaging apps as well as those operated by the bank.