Google opens to return to work, to the office, starting in mid-October, but only after having the vaccine. In an email sent to Google’s more than 130,000 employees worldwide, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is now aiming to bring the majority of its workforce back to its offices starting October 18 instead of the previous one. expected date of September 1st. The decision also affects tens of thousands of contractors that Google intends to continue paying while access to its campuses remains limited.
“This extension of remote working will give us time to get back to work while providing flexibility for those who need it,” Pichai wrote. And Pichai revealed that once the offices reopen, everyone who works there will need to be vaccinated. The requirement will initially be enforced in Mountain View, California, Google’s headquarters and other US offices, before being rolled out to more than 40 other countries in which Google operates.
The Mountain View giant’s decision will be adequate to adhere to the laws and regulations of each location, Pichai wrote, and exceptions will be made for medical and other “protected reasons.” Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months to come, ”Pichai explained.
Google’s decision to require the vaccination of office workers comes in the wake of similar initiatives that have affected hundreds of thousands of civil servants in California and New York as part of strengthened measures to combat the delta variant. President Joe Biden is also considering getting all federal government employees vaccinated.
It is unclear how many of Google’s workers have not yet been vaccinated. In his email, Pichai described the vaccination rate at the company as high. Google’s decision to extend remote work follows a similar move by another tech powerhouse, Apple, which also recently shifted its plans to return to office from September to October. The delays from Apple and Google could influence other major employers to take similar precautions, as the tech industry has been at the forefront of the shift to remote work triggered by the spread of the novel coronavirus.