Amazon delays office return to 2022 as delta variant spreads across USA

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Amazon has postponed plans to return to the office until January next year as a surge in Covid-19 cases sparks concern across the United States.

The etail giant previously said that it expected most of its employees to return to the office regularly from September 7.

The delay until next year will also impact its staff in the UK, according to The Times.

Amazon had revealed in June that it would allow employees to work remotely up to two days a week when offices re-opened.

Amazon’s move marks the latest in a series of changes from US-based firms on their return-to-office plans in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases. The highly contagious delta variant has sparked almost 100,000 cases a day across the nation.

Google has extended its work-from-home plans until October 18, while Twitter has shut offices that it had previously re-opened.

Amazon also said it will not require office employees to be vaccinated, differing from the policies of fellow tech giants Google and Facebook. Amazon will instead require unvaccinated workers returning to the office to wear a mask.

The updated policy will not apply to workers in the company’s warehouses and fulfilment centres, who have continued working throughout the pandemic to match demand.