Amazon pushes back on return to office as Delta variant takes hold in US
Amazon has postponed the return to the office for its employees until January 2022 amid concerns about continued surging coronavirus cases worldwide.
The retail giant said on Thursday it would not expect its corporate employees – who had been due to return to their desks next month – to return to the office until 3 January next year.
Amazon’s work from home period would be extended for employees “in the US and other countries”, according to an internal memo sent by Bath Galetti, a senior vice-president at Amazon. The new deadline is understood to include the company’s 40,000 UK staff, too.
“As we continue to closely watch local conditions related to COVID-19, we are adjusting our guidance for corporate employees,” the note said.
Covid infections are surging in the US, driven by the spread of the more transmissable Delta variant of the virus that also accounts for the majority of cases in the UK. Daily cases hit a six-month high in the US on Thursday, with more than 100,00 new infections reported – the highest daily rate in the world.
Amazon is the latest tech behemoth to push back on its planned return to office schedule. Last week, Twitter closed its reopened US office over third wave fears, Facebook said it would require all US employees to be vaccinated in order to return, and Google’s parent family Alphabet said it would extend working from home through to 18 October.