US Banking Industry Provides Bonuses to Employees Unable to Work Remotely Despite COVID-19

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Despite the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the U.S. banking industry is providing special bonuses to branch and call center employees who are inevitably required to work on-site. Banks are considered essential industries by the federal government and are therefore excluded from the 'shutdown.'

According to CNBC on the 23rd (local time), Citigroup decided to offer a $1,000 bonus only to employees in the U.S. earning a base salary of $60,000 or less (approximately).

U.S. Bank is pushing for a 20% hourly wage increase for about 30,000 employees, including those working at branches and call centers.

Earlier, JPMorgan Chase also decided to provide a one-time bonus of up to $1,000 to on-site employees. The bonus targets employees earning a base salary of $60,000 or less who cannot work from home. It will be paid in two installments of $500 each in April and May.

JPMorgan Chase stated, "We are encouraging all employees in 60 countries worldwide to work from home as much as possible," adding, "Nevertheless, we decided to provide bonuses as a gesture of comfort and encouragement to employees who still cannot work from home, such as those at branches and call centers."

Bank of America also decided to increase overtime pay by $200 for frontline employees such as those at branches and call centers.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., retail industries where most employees must work on-site, such as Walmart, Amazon, and Target, have also started providing bonuses to workers. Amazon temporarily raised wages for contract warehouse workers from $15 to $17 per hour. Walmart is also increasing hourly wages by about $2.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.