Goldman Sachs delays return to office for U.S. workers

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc has postponed its return-to-office plan for U.S. staff by another two weeks as COVID-19 cases in the country flare up, largely fueled by the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.

The bank's employees were told they could delay returning to office to Feb. 1, a spokesperson said, after having previously allowed workers to work from home until Jan. 18.

Goldman, which had been one of the most aggressive banks in bringing staff back into offices, has been forced to alter plans because of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The plans were first reported by Bloomberg News.

The bank has also mandated vaccines and booster shots for eligible employees, effective Feb. 1.

Big Wall Street firms continue to grapple with how to bring workers back to offices safely, with coronavirus cases rising rapidly again.

Citigroup Inc said last week U.S. employees who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave and fired at the end of the month unless they are granted an exemption and accommodation.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Matt Scuffham in New York; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Krishna Chandra Eluri)