UBS To Offer Permanent Hybrid Work Option To Employees

(RTTNews) - Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG plans to allow majority of its employees to adopt a permanent hybrid working model, the Financial Times reported, citing an internal memo.

As per the plan, as many as two-thirds of its employees can opt for a mix of work from home and the office. The offer is based on roles and locations.

The bank is yet to finalize a date for a return to the office.

The move, led by Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers follows an internal analysis of its around 72,000 global workforce.

As per the analysis, two-thirds of its workforce were in positions suitable for hybrid working, while some employees will have to work from site such as traders and branch staff.

Among rivals, Citigroup Inc. reportedly has offered most employees a hybrid work schedule between work from home and the office.

Other major U.S. banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. require most of their employees to return to office.

At a recent conference, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman reportedly said recently that he expects employees at their New York branch to return to work soon.

Wells Fargo, the bank with the largest workforce of about 200,000 employees in US, is reportedly planning to bring its employees back into offices in September, after Labor Day.

Since the start of coronavirus pandemic, major companies across the world have allowed employees to work from home aiming to help slow down the spread of virus. Of late, many companies are revising their work from home policies.

Nokia Corp. last week had announced flexible working solutions for its employees consequent to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. employees are likely to return to their respective offices starting in early September, as per an email reportedly sent by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

In early May, Google also had announced a new "hybrid" plan at its workplace that will see about 20 percent of its employees work from home even after its offices reopen later this year.