The CEO of UBS Group AG banking, an international financing service with more than 25,000 U.S. employees, has said it would allow workers who don't want to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to work from home.
The move comes after more than 40 of the largest companies operating in the U.S. imposed vaccine mandates for their workers with deadlines in September and October amid the delta variant's spread.
UBS CEO Ralph Hamers said it was the best move for his company as different country's around the world have different rules and regulations.
'Every country has a different legal framework around what you can and can't make mandatory' with respect to vaccines, Hamers said at the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken on Thursday. 'The pandemic has delivered solutions to manage the risk of carrying the virus and passing it to your colleagues, and that is to work from home.'
UBS has around 70,000 employees worldwide, with more than a third in the U.S., Bloomberg reports.
Its largest offices are located in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Ralph Hamers, CEO of UBS Group AG, said employees who don't want to be vaccinated can work from home
UBS AG's office in Stamford, Connecticut. The global banking giant employees more than 70,000 people world wide, with more than a third working in the U.S.
More than 40 of the largest companies in the U.S. have said employees must get the COVID-19 vaccine, with deadlines set in September and October
It is not the first Swiss-based finance company to show leniency toward its workforce. Credit Suisse issued a similar rules last week, signaling a continued disruption of global banks' efforts to get workers back to in the office.
In the U.S., large financial institutions - such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Northwest Mutual - have made the vaccine mandatory for its employees.
A memo form Morgan Stanley leadership to staff said the mandate was necessary to 'provide greater comfort for those working in the office,' Fortune reported.
The U.K.-based HSBC Bank will continue to allow employees to work from home.
While tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have also pushed for all U.S. employees to be vaccinated, Apple and Amazon have chosen to delay bringing all employees back to the office.
Apple employees were set to return in early September, but CEO Tim Cook pushed the date back to January 2022, a move Amazon mimicked, Forbes reported.
Apple and Amazon cited worries over the spread of the delta variant, with the U.S. reporting nearly 40,000,000 new cases over the last 30 days and more than 638,000 deaths, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Nearly 75 percent of eligible adults have at least taken one jab of the vaccine.
While cases in the United States are still rising, the rate has slowed in recent weeks, leading many experts to believe the variant that devastated the nation is running out of fuel.
Cases grew by 67 percent from August 2 to August 16, from 85,000 per day to 142,000 per day, and only 15 percent, 139,000 per day to 160,000 per day from August 17 to 31.
The sharp decline in case rise could be a blip on the radar, a brief respite before a larger spike to come, or it could be the beginning of the end of 2021's summer surge.
Companies across the country impose vaccine mandates for workers - and even visitors
AT&T - Only managers must be vaccinated
Amtrak - All employees must be vaccinated by Nov. 1 and new employees must show proof of vaccination starting Oct. 4. Employees could be granted medical or religious exemptions and will instead undergo weekly Covid-19 testing
Ascension Health - All employees must be vaccinated by Nov. 12, including those working remotely
Centene Corporation - All employees must provide proof of vaccination or undergo regular Covid-19 testing and wear masks at all times in the office
Chevron - Expatriate employees, workers traveling internationally, and employees on U.S.-flagged ships must be vaccinated. Offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico must be vaccinated by Nov. 1
Cisco - All office workers must be vaccinated
Citigroup - All employees working in major cities must be vaccinated
CNN - All employees must be vaccinated and three have already been fired for violating the policy
CVS - Pharmacists must be vaccinated by Nov. 30 and corporate workers must be vaccinated by Oct. 31, with exemptions for medical and religious reasons
Deloitte - All employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 11
Delta Air Lines - All employees must be vaccinated or pay an additional $200 per month for their company-sponsored healthcare plan
DoorDash - All corporate employees working in person must be vaccinated
Envision Healthcare - All employees must be vaccinated by Nov. 1 with medical and religious exemptions
Equinox - New York City employees and members must be vaccinated beginning in September
Facebook - All US office workers must be vaccinated
Ford - All employees who travel for international business must be vaccinated
Frontier Airlines - All employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 1 or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing
Gilead Sciences - All U.S. employees and contractors must be vaccine by Oct. 1 with exemptions for medical and religious reasons
Goldman Sachs - All office staff and visitors must be vaccinated and will be subjected to regular Covid-19 testing starting September 7, with no exemptions
Google - All office workers must be vaccinated
Hawaii Airlines - All employees must be vaccinated by Nov. 1, but could apply for medical or religious exemptions and instead undergo regular Covid-19 testing
Hess - Employees who work in the Gulf of Mexico must be vaccinated by Nov. 1
Johnson and Johnson - All U.S. employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 4 with exemptions for medical or religious reason
Lyft - All office workers must be vaccinated
McDonald’s - All U.S. employees, excluding those at corporate or franchise restaurants, must be vaccinated by Oct. 11
MGM Resorts - Salaried office employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 15 and new office employees must be vaccinated starting Aug. 30. Las Vegas employees must undergo regular Covid-19 testing
Microsoft - All office workers and guests must be vaccinated by Oct. 4
Moderna - All US employees must be vaccinated by October
Morgan Stanley - All employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 1
Netflix - Anyone working in or visiting the company's offices must be vaccinated
Northwestern Mutual - All office workers must be vaccinated with exemptions for medical or religious reason
Norwegian Cruise Line - All crew and passengers must be vaccinated at least two weeks before boarding
Pfizer - All U.S. employees and contractors must be vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing
Politico - All employees must be vaccinated
Saks Fifth Avenue - All office employees must be vaccinated
Salesforce - All office workers must be vaccinated
The New York Times - All office workers must be vaccinated
The Washington Post - All employees must be vaccinated by Sept. 13
TJX - Only Home and Regional Office Associates must be vaccinated by Nov. 1 with medical and religious exemptions
Twitter - All office workers in San Francisco and New York must be vaccinated
Tyson Foods - All U.S. employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 1 and other staffers by Nov. 1 with medical and religious exemptions
Uber - All office workers must be vaccinated
United Airlines - All U.S. employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 25 with medical and religious exemptions
UPS - All headquarters and office building employees must be vaccinated by Oct. 1
Walgreens - All workers in support offices must be vaccinated by Sept. 30 or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing
Walmart - All staff at its headquarters and managers traveling within the U.S. must be vaccinated by Oct. 4, with medical and religious exemptions
Walt Disney parks - All on-site salaried and non-union employees must be vaccinated. Union employees have until Oct. 22 with medical and religious exemptions
