Amazon.com Inc. has postponed the re-opening of its offices in the US, further allowing corporate employees to work from home till June 2021, due to the surge in Covid-19 cases again.
Extending The Re-Opening Timeline
On Tuesday, Amazon.com Inc said that their employees whose work can be done from home should continue to do so till June, further extending the timeline.
Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, “We continue to prioritize the health of our employees and follow local government guidance,”.
“Employees with work that can effectively be done from home can continue to do that work from home through June 30, 2021,” he added.
Prior to this, Amazon had allowed this option till January.
Why This Extension?
This decision seems to be following the development where in less than three weeks, more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year.
While many speculations were going on, some staff elected officials and unions mentioned that Amazon put their employees’ health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the pandemic.
While responding to the concerns, the Amazon spokeswoman said on Tuesday, “We have invested significant funds and resources to keep those who choose to come to the office safe through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and by providing face coverings and hand sanitizer,” .
What About The Other Players?
This way Amazon followed the trend of several tech companies which have already extended their work from home policies until at least early 2021.
This list includes popular names such as Apple, Facebook and Uber.
While some have gone a step ahead as Twitter has allowed employees to work from home “forever” if they wish.
While earlier this month, Microsoft Corp said that it will allow most of the employees to work remotely for up to half their weekly working hours.
On the other hand, Facebook Inc said that it would allow its employees to work from home till July next year.
In the case of Google, they have extended the remote working period for employees who do not need to be in the office till June.
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