Google, Facebook send employee vaccines to US offices: NPR

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Google announced Wednesday that it will require employees to be vaccinated before coming to work. Facebook followed shortly after with a similar announcement. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP hide caption

toggle caption Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Google announced Wednesday that it will require employees to be vaccinated before coming to work. Facebook followed shortly after with a similar announcement.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Google and Facebook will require U.S. employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus before returning to the company’s offices, the tech giants said Wednesday.

In a blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the vaccine’s mandate will apply to its US offices in the coming weeks and will eventually be required for other locations.

“Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months to come,” Pichai wrote.

Shortly after Google’s announcement, Facebook followed suit, stating that this too will require anyone who comes to work in its US offices to be vaccinated.

“How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations. We will have a trial for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will evaluate our approach in other regions as the situation evolves.” wrote Lori Goler, CEO of Facebook. vice president of the people, in a note.

So far, other major tech companies, including Apple and Amazon, have refused to impose vaccines. Microsoft, in a note to employees, says it will not require vaccination to enter workplaces, but the company’s top officials recommend employees receive the vaccine.

Pichai also said Google would postpone the return date for most of its 144,000 employees from September to mid-October as the delta variant of COVID-19 spreads. Other tech companies have announced similar delays.

When the pandemic took hold last year, the tech industry was one of the first to send employees home to work. Now he’s struggling with how and when to get them back to the office and to what extent he should allow his vast workforce to continue working remotely. Many companies have developed hybrid models, offering workers at least some flexibility.

Apple also postponed the return date to the office to October, but the company says it has committed to having most employees work on site at least three days a week.

Microsoft is aiming to reopen its offices in September. Microsoft said the pandemic has led it to expand its hybrid job opportunities for workers.

Facebook is on track to reopen its offices in October, but will allow employees to continue working remotely, subject to authorization. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expects half of the tech giant’s 48,000 employees to work remotely in the coming years.

Amazon employees are also expected to return to the office this fall. He said he will allow employees to work from home two days a week. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on whether the company will issue a vaccine warrant.

Twitter requires its returning workers to show proof of vaccination before returning to the office. Yet it has some of the boldest remote work policies in the industry. The company announced in May that its employees can work remotely permanently if they wish. Twitter CFO Ned Segal said in a tweet earlier this month that “We’re not asking everyone to come back. Never,” adding that Twitter staff can do their jobs “on the couch or in the office.”

In his blog post on Wednesday, Google’s Pichai said he was encouraged to see “very high vaccination rates” among Googlers.

“This is a big reason why we felt comfortable opening some of our offices to employees who wanted to return soon,” he wrote.

Editor’s Note: Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft are among NPR’s financial backers

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