AmEx to employees: Don’t leave home…until Labor Day

Financial services giant tells US workers return to office won’t be for months

(iStock/Illustration by Alexis Manrodt for The Real Deal)
(iStock/Illustration by Alexis Manrodt for The Real Deal)

It’ll be another winter, spring and summer at the home office for American Express employees in the U.S.

The financial services giant — whose longtime slogan was, “Don’t leave home without it” — told workers they can continue operating from home through Labor Day, according to Bloomberg.

CEO Stephen Squeri said the New York-based company would also help the city distribute Covid-19 vaccines to employees, although the company’s assistance has not yet been requested, the report noted.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

AmEx, like many of New York’s large office tenants, sent most of its employees home last spring as the coronavirus took hold. Squeri said in a memo to employees that the early September return to the office timeline allows the company to monitor vaccine distribution and plan accordingly.

The exodus of workers has upended office markets, including in Manhattan, and frustrated landlords. New York leasing dropped dramatically last year and few office workers seemed willing to return to their buildings. Many large tenants in the city have not rushed people back, either.

Similar situations have been playing out in other major metros like Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. [Bloomberg] — Alexi Friedman