Amazon joins the growing list of companies delaying their return to in-office work.
But while most big tech companies have pushed off their returns to October at the moment, Amazon is throwing in the towel on 2021 and waiting until next year. For now, no one will return until Jan. 3, 2022 at the earliest, Amazon confirmed today. Previously, employees were scheduled to begin returning to the office on Sept. 7.
As GeekWire first reported, Amazon is not yet requiring employees to be vaccinated. But unvaccinated people will have to wear masks at the office.
Concern about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the US—especially those involving the Delta variant that’s said to be more contagious than the original strain—has forced top tech firms to cancel plans for employees to return to offices en masse.
Earlier this week, Microsoft said it would delay the full re-opening of its offices from Sept. 7 until at least Oct. 4, and require people to get vaccinated. Facebook, Google, and Netflix will also require vaccines, and Facebook will require masks regardless of vaccine status.
Apple also pushed its return-to-work until October, and is reportedly surveying employees about their vaccination statuses.
In June, Amazon said it would embrace “a mix of working between the office and home” going forward. The baseline will be three days in the office and two days working from home, while corporate employees will have the option to work up to four weeks fully remote per year. “We recognize this is an unprecedented time. We’re all figuring out how work will keep evolving and what will be best for customers, our teams, and individual employees,” it said at the time.
