(Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co. pushed back its return-to-office plans by two more weeks to mid-October.
The company, which has the most employees of any U.S. bank, will now begin bringing back staffers who have been working remotely starting Oct. 18, rather than Oct. 4, according to an internal memo Wednesday from Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell. Last month, Wells Fargo delayed its office return, originally set for Sept. 7, by a month as Covid-19 cases surged again across the U.S.
“The sequence of how employees will return remains unchanged from what I shared in my message on July 16, with operations and contact center employees returning over the course of several weeks beginning Oct. 18, followed by our enterprise functions and line of business support employees in November,” Powell wrote in the memo.
Financial firms, which have been at the forefront of repopulating offices, are now grappling with how to adjust plans as the delta variant continues to spread across the country. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has so far stopped short of requiring employees to get vaccinated, but all staffers currently working in the firm’s offices are required to wear masks regardless of whether they’ve gotten the shots. Wednesday’s memo from Powell included mention of Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine having been fully approved by U.S. drug regulators.
Read more: It’s Deja Vu for Wall Street With September Return Upended Again
