The coronavirus has Wall Street emptying out so fast you can almost hear the tumbleweeds rolling by.
As cases surge in the tri-state area, big banks and hedge funds are increasingly encouraging their staffers to work from home.
Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square Capital has instructed the 36 staffers in its midtown Manhattan office to avoid the office. “We’ve asked employees to work from home for the time being,” said the fund’s spokesman, Francis McGill.
Bridgewater Associates — the world’s biggest hedge fund, headed by billionaire Ray Dalio — is also telling most employees to work from home, sources told The Post.
Over at Goldman Sachs, staffers are being given the option. “If employees feel more comfortable working remotely they are welcome to do that,” a spokeswoman said. She added that many Goldman Sachs-ers are already setting up shop in less-populated offices in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Jersey City in order to keep headcount down at the bank’s lower Manhattan headquarters.
JPMorgan Chase declined to offer an update on its plans on Wednesday, but was previously reported to have asked 10 percent of its 127,000 staffers to work from home.
There are currently more than 216 confirmed cases in the Empire State with the bulk of patients in Westchester and New Rochelle, which is just north of the Bronx.
Eight new coronavirus cases were reported in New Jersey on Wednesday, bringing the state’s total up to 23, state officials said.