Bank of America reducing branch hours nationwide. Workers will be paid bonuses.
.JPG "Bank of America said it will pay all branch workers a $200 bonus every two weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak, while it reduces branch hours nationwide.")
Bank of America plans to give all branch workers a $200 bonus every two weeks as it reduces branch hours at its 4,300 locations nationwide, according to a company memo the Charlotte Observer obtained Friday. Workers will still be paid for their regular, full schedule, even if hours are reduced.
Effective Friday night, the bank plans to reduce its Monday to Friday branch hours to from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, branches will return to regular hours. The bank said the shortened hours are, in part, to allow for daily cleanings of the branches.
It’s the latest move by a major financial institution to attempt to help its workers and their families deal with the spiraling economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Truist, the only other large bank headquartered in Charlotte, said this week that it plans to give a $1,200 pre-tax bonus to all employees making under $100,000 a year, in addition to increasing childcare benefits for workers.
Call center workers
While not receiving the biweekly bonuses, employees in Bank of America call and operations centers in the U.S. will have their overtime pay raised to double their standard hourly rate, according to the memo.
Bank of America said it added 1,000 new people to its consumer and small business banking group in March to help customers. The bank has hired 1,700 new employees this month, according to the memo.
Call centers for all banks across the country have been swarmed with calls in the last week, as thousands of newly out-of-work Americans scramble to address their finances, seeking relief on impending mortgage and credit card payments.
The bank said that it’s allowed many of the workers who can work from home to do so. For the ones who can’t work remotely, the bank said it’s moved some to backup locations and promoted social distancing and other precautions.
Earlier this week, Bank of America announced that it planned to donate $100 million to help communities hurt by the coronavirus. The bank employs 208,000 people, including 16,000 in Charlotte, where it is headquartered.
On Sunday, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said on CBS’s ‘Face The Nation’, “This is a war. We’re in a war to contain this virus.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 4:31 PM.