American banking giant JPMorgan Chase has asked its employees in New York-area to work from home to curb the potential spread of the deadly coronavirus (Covid-19).

According to a memo obtained by CNBC, the bank said: “We are asking our managers to arrange for no fewer than 25% and no greater than 50% of their team members who can effectively work from home, to begin doing so by the end of this week.”

The plan is applicable to employees working in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City offices in New York.

Under the plan, the bank will split the staff into two groups with the first group working from home while the other group working from the office every alternate week.

However, the plan is not applicable to branch workers and traders, the report added.

Apart from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs has also devised a similar plan for its employees depending on their roles.

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Its employees will either rotate between working remotely or from the main office or be assigned to a backup location.

JPMorgan is said to have nearly 37,000 employees in the metro area of New York, of which nearly half are branch workers.

Recently, JPMorgan Chase asked 10% of its staff to work from home and is currently moving traders in New York and London to other locations.

Banks around the world are working to keep their business running amid the coronavirus spread.

Coronavirus cases have continued to swell in the US in recent days.

As of 11 March, there were over 1,200 cases reported in the country, and about 40 people had died.

Recently, the European Central Bank (ECB) also asked the majority of its 3,500 staff in Frankfurt to work from home to measure its coronavirus (COVID-19) preparations.

Last week,  HSBC Bank sent more than 100 employees home after a worker from the research department tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

BBVA transferred almost 100 people from its trading floor in Madrid to a location outside the city.

Earlier this month, major American banks imposed restrictions on international travel immune their operations.


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