Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said the bank will send $1,000 awards to some employees to compensate them for the "financial burden" of working during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are going to provide more than 75,000 colleagues globally with a special compensation award to help ease the financial burden of this situation," Corbat said Monday in a memo to staff. "In the U.S., an award of $1,000 will be provided to eligible colleagues who make $60,000 or less in base salary. Outside the U.S., the special award will be based on local market compensation levels."

Citigroup, the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, is following rivals JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America in offering lower-paid employees cash bonuses during the pandemic. The move could shore up morale among bank workers like tellers who, because of the nature of their roles, cannot work from home like other colleagues can.

The award can apply to tellers, call center workers and any other Citigroup employee making less than $60,000 in the U.S., regardless of whether they work at a company facility or from home, according to a spokeswoman.

Corbat said that managers are also "allowing those who are sick, at high risk or otherwise unable to work as a result of this situation to take time off without using accrued paid time off; extending the time frame for use of carry over vacation; and supporting transportation needs for our site-dependent colleagues."