Unvaccinated Citigroup employees to face sack

All US employees on the staff of investment bank Citigroup have until 14 January to submit proof of Covid-19 vaccination or face the sack, according to media reports.

Employees who do not comply will be placed on unpaid leave and terminated at the end of the month, according to several media reports citing a memo sent by the bank to its staff.

The memo reportedly comes as Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the US.

Citigroup does allow religious and medical exemptions for employees and says it is complying with local laws.

Citigroup's spokeswoman reportedly said more than 90% of the bank's employees have complied with the vaccine mandate so far.

She claimed that the figure is climbing rapidly.

New rules

The US bank announced its plan to impose new vaccination rules in October and it now becomes the first Wall Street bank to implement a strict vaccine mandate.

Other major Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, have told some unvaccinated employees to work from home, but none has yet gone as far as sacking employees.

Citigroup last year told employees that because the investment banking company is a government contractor, employees would have to comply with President Joe Biden's executive order on vaccines.