By Alexander Cornwell
March 12 (Reuters) – Bloomberg has told employees based in the Gulf, including at its Dubai regional headquarters, they can temporarily relocate and work from outside the region, a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday, as Iran carries out repeated attacks on Gulf cities.
Companies across the region are trying to maintain operations and keep staff safe as conflict spreads across the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran 13 days ago, sparking a regional conflict. U.S. lender Citigroup and British bank Standard Chartered as well as the London Stock Exchange Group have told employees in Dubai to work remotely.
Iran has mounted a series of attacks on Dubai and other cities in the United Arab Emirates, including drone strikes at the city’s airport, port, hotels and residential towers. It has also repeatedly carried out attacks on Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman have also come under attack.
In response to Reuters’ questions, a Bloomberg spokesperson confirmed that staff in the Gulf, including Dubai, have been given the choice to work temporarily from outside the region.
Most employees have not asked to relocate but would be allowed to do so if they did, the spokesperson said, adding that the company continues to serve clients “without interruption.”
Thomson Reuters, which owns the Reuters news agency, competes with Bloomberg in providing financial data and news.
Bloomberg employs journalists and other staff at its regional headquarters in Dubai’s financial district, including in roles supporting its financial data terminal. It also has staff elsewhere in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.
The spokesperson also referred to remarks by co-founder Michael Bloomberg at a Bloomberg event in Paris on Thursday, where he said the company “remains fully committed to the region and to helping our customers during this difficult period.”
Bloomberg’s weekday morning news program “Horizons Middle East & Africa” did not broadcast from Dubai on Thursday as it usually does, because of what its anchor, Joumanna Bercetche, described in a post on X as the “escalating situation.”
An Iranian official on Wednesday had said that Tehran would target banks and economic centres linked to the United States and Israel. A number of major international banks, including American lenders, have offices in Dubai’s financial district.
Many foreign governments have advised against travel to the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East, and have urged their citizens to leave if they wish to do so.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Additional reporting by Charlie Conchie, editing by Deepa Babington)
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