Google tells its employees they won’t return to company office until at least June 1st, and will use a staggered approach when it finally does bring workers back
- CEO Sundar Pichai wrote an all-staff email announcing the company offices would remain closed at least until June 1st
- He said that when the tech giant does reopen it will be ‘staggered’
- Pichai said the company will also work with employees who have special health or family needs that might make them unable to return even after offices open
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Google has told its employees the company offices will remain closed until at least June 1 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In an email sent to the company’s fulltime employees, CEO Sundar Pichai said Google likely use a ‘staggered’ approach when it finally does reopen its offices, but company management still haven’t settled on an exact date for any locations.
The update comes after six neighboring counties to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California announced extensions to their shelter in place orders through the end of May.
Google says it will keep the majority of its 103,000 employees on work-from-home status through at least June 1, and when it does begin opening offices it will be a staggered process that will take place over several months
‘Not everyone at a site will go back at once,’ Pichai wrote in the email according to a CNBC report.
‘There will be no one-size-fits-all approach, and the specific guidance will vary from location to location.’
Pichai promised that when the company does begin reopening its offices, it will make special assurances for workers who many not wish to, or be able to, safely return to the offices.
‘I know that the prospect of returning to the office will produce different emotions for everyone,’ Pichai wrote.
‘Some of us will be eager to return to our familiar workspaces and see colleagues. For others, leaving loved ones and the shelter of our homes may cause anxiety.’
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also thanked the small group of Google employees who have continued to go into its offices to maintain servers and other critical infrastructure to the company’s core business
While some Google employees in some of its Asia Pacific offices have been allowed to return to work, Pichai asked that ‘everyone who is in a recommended or mandatory work-from-home status should assume that will continue until at least June 1, 2020.’
Pichai also offered a show of gratitude for the small group of Google employees have been authorized to continue coming into the company’s offices and data centers to perform vital maintenance and oversight on the company’s core tools and data infrastructure.
‘For those of you currently working onsite to provide critical services to keep our products, offices and data centers running, thank you!’ he said.
‘Your work has made it possible for us to help millions of others. I am grateful for everything our global teams are doing to deliver on our mission under these difficult circumstances.’
The company has 103,000 employees spread across more than 70 offices in 50 countries around the world.