Bank of Montreal, CIBC say employees to continue to work from home until April

TORONTO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said employees currently working from home will continue to do so until at least April.

Most office-based employees at Canadian banks have not been working from offices since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March. A resurgence in cases in many parts of the country, including Toronto, has prompted the resumption of lockdowns and tighter safety measures.

Canada has reported 342,444 total cases of COVID-19 and 11,618 deaths. Canada's five biggest banks - Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, BMO and CIBC all have their biggest offices in Toronto.

"Given latest health authority guidance, we now expect the majority of our colleagues working off-site today will continue to do so until at least April 2021," CIBC's Group Head for People, Culture and Brand Sandy Sharman said in a memo to employees, adding the bank will give staff four weeks notice before any return plan is put into action.

BMO said in a statement that it does not "foresee any broad-based changes for employees who are currently working from home any sooner than April 2021, unless a specific business need exists."

Canada's biggest banks said in July that they most of their employees will continue to work from home until at least year-end. (Reporting By Nichola Saminather; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)