JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley have told their staff in Israel to work from home for the foreseeable future after an unprecedented invasion of the country by Hamas militants set off a war.
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley have told their staff in Israel to work from home for the foreseeable future after an unprecedented invasion of the country by Hamas militants set off a war.
The Wall Street banks have asked their employees not to come to office, people familiar with the work-from-home plan said, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters. JPMorgan has about 200 employees in Israel, one person said. Representatives for both the banks declined to comment.
Other financial institutions including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America and Deutsche Bank AG didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment about their own plans.
As the death toll from the conflict topped 1,100 and fighting continued for a third day, Israel is preparing for an escalation with a call for 300,000 army reservists, which the Jerusalem Post called the largest mobilization drive in the nation’s history.Â
The attack by Hamas, which included infiltration by land and sea, rocket attacks and hostage taking, is seen as the Jewish state’s worst military and intelligence failure in 50 years. The US said it’s sending a group of warships and weapons to the region.
(Updates with Morgan Stanley’s decision.)
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