Amazon Pushes Return To Office Until 2022 As Delta Variant Cases Surge

Amazon (AMZN) said Thursday that it is pushing back the date for workers to return to offices until January 2022 as cases of the Delta variant spike across the U.S.

The e-commerce giant had previously set the week of Sept. 7 as its start date for most of its employees to return to corporate offices.

Now workers will begin resuming corporate office work on Jan. 3, 2022, according to GeekWire.

The news of the postponed start date from Amazon comes as concerns across the U.S. rise over the Delta variant of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the Delta variant now comprises 93% of all COVID cases.

Amazon is not alone in adjusting its return to work schedule. Google, Facebook, Apple, and Twitter have all modified their office plans in light of the increased Delta surge.

Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said in a July 29 earnings call that it will not require workers to be vaccinated, a departure from Google’s and Facebook’s policies. The company will require employees to wear face masks unless they have proof of vaccination, CNBC noted.

Apple pushed back its return-to-work date until at least October, while Facebook and Google will not require employees in the office until October.

Twitter has said that its employees can work remotely permanently but will require vaccinations for workers that do return to the office and has shut down its New York City and San Francisco offices in light of the CDC updated guidelines.

As of Thursday at 2:09 p.m. ET, shares of Amazon were trading at $3,381.00, up $26.28, or 0.78%.