Facebook delays employees’ return to office as Delta variant surges

Facebook on Thursday announced it will delay its employees' return to the office until early next year due to ongoing concerns and surging cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

The social network giant set a new target of bringing employees back on its campuses in January, but promised to provide ample notice before they are required to join.

"Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office. Given the recent health data showing rising Covid cases based on the delta variant, our teams in the US will not be required to go back to the office until January 2022. We expect this to be the case for some countries outside of the US, as well.” a Facebook spokesperson told AFP.

"We continue to monitor the situation and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritise everyone's safety," the spokesperson added.

Facebook is also requiring people in offices to wear masks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated. The company had previously aimed to return employees to its offices in October with strict vaccination and mask requirements.

Other tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft have said employees returning to office will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Google this month made its campuses off-limits to unvaccinated employees and extended its global work from home option till October 18.

At Microsoft, the earliest date for fully reopening US facilities will be October 4, according to a company statement.

E-commerce colossus Amazon announced a similar plan for corporate employees last week, delaying employees’ return until January instead of September of this year.

Edited by Rupashree Ravi

Also Read: Following Google and Facebook, Microsoft will now require employees to be vaccinated before rejoining office

Also Read: What is the metaverse? A high-tech plan to Facebookify the world