Amazon delays office return until January

Amazon said it would not expect U.S. corporate employees to return to the office until next year because of the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Conway G.

Gittens has more.

Amazon.com is delaying return-to-office plans for employees until January 2022, according to an internal note seen by Reuters.

The original plan was for employees to return to work in the U.S. and other countries on September 7th, but the surge in new COVID-19 cases tied to the Delta variant has upended that.

Amazon told Reuters that employee health is a top priority and it plans to adhere to local government guidance for a safe office return.

It also said it will require masks in offices except for staff who prove full vaccination.

Amazon came under fire early in the pandemic by workers at its packing and distribution centers, who claimed the company wasn't doing enough to prevent the spread of the contagious disease.

The new return-to-work guidance at the world's largest online retailer does not include warehouse and delivery operations staff, who make up the majority of its workforce.

Amazon is not alone in shifting the work-from-home schedule.

The upswing in COVID-19 cases prompted Alphabet's Google to extend its work-from-home policy through October.

Twitter said it would close its workspaces that had already reopened.

And Apple has reportedly suspended its return-to-office guidance indefinitely.

For some companies, like Morgan Stanley, which haven't officially changed when workers are meant to go back to the office - they are requiring proof of full-vaccination to enter their buildings.

The same goes for Pfizer, Gap, and Microsoft - to name a few.