The midtown Manhattan offices of PIMCO, the giant bond fund headquartered in Newport Beach, has reportedly been evacuated after being hit with a severe bedbug infestation. After hitting the media industry a few years back, and straphanging on the subway this summer, the ghoulish little creatures have apparently decided to occupy Wall Street.
Fox Business’s Charlie Gasparino reports:
Stock traders who do business with Pacific Investment Management Co., better known as PIMCO, say hundreds of people have been evacuated from one of the outfit’s New York City buildings in recent days and have been relocated to an undisclosed upstate location after reports of widespread bed bug bites among executives and employees.
One stock trader at Goldman Sachs who deals regularly with the bond behemoth says while it’s “business as usual” when dealing with the company, employees are also “freaked out” that they may be harboring the blood-sucking insects on clothes and in bags.
PIMCO hasn’t yet responded to a request for more details of the apparent bedbug plague, including whether it plans to burn down the entire building and start over, and whether the infestation might be part of an elaborate revenge scheme concocted by a booted PIMCO executive whose name may or may not rhyme with “Bohamed Bel-Ferrian.” But regardless, the firm has our sympathies.
Update: A PIMCO spokesman relays the following: “Our New York office is addressing an isolated issue with insects, and as a precautionary measure the firm is fumigating certain areas of the office space. During this period our employees are working remotely and we expect to resume full on-premises staffing over the coming days. This is an issue that is far from uncommon in New York City.”
