US banking giant Citigroup is reportedly planning to terminate unvaccinated staff by the end of this month as the country battles to contain the latest Covid-19 surge driven by Omicron variant.

According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the workers who fail to get vaccinated by 14 January 2022 will be sent on unpaid leave and terminated by the end of this month.

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Notably, Citigroup is the first leading Wall Street bank to implement a strict vaccine mandate, after announcing plans to change its vaccination policy in October 2021.

In the memo, the lender noted that exemptions will be made based on religious, medical, and other grounds on a case-by-case basis.

Over 90% of Citigroup’s employees have received jabs and that figure is rising, a source told the news agency.

“You are welcome to apply for other roles at Citi in the future as long as you are compliant with Citi’s vaccination policy,” the bank’s memo read. “If you are not vaccinated, we urge you to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

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The bank also said that the mandate was in line with US President Joe Biden’s policy that requires all workers supporting government contracts to be fully vaccinated.

Citi’s announcement comes as banks in the US are forced to halt their return to office plans due to the rising cases of Omicron.

Last week, Bank of America reportedly asked its employees to continue working from home and urged them to get fully vaccinated and get booster shots.

Other US banking giants such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have also asked employees to work from home.