The American technology giant Google has informed its more than 130,000 employees around the world on Wednesday that they have the obligation to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 to return to the offices in October. In a corporate blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai explained that the implementation of this requirement “will vary according to local conditions and regulations” and that it will not be imposed in a given region until vaccines are “widely available” in it.
Pichai has also delayed the mandatory return date to the offices, which was set for September , and now it is October 18, due to the increase in coronavirus cases worldwide due to the delta variant .
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS IN THE PANDEMIC
The company can deny work to anyone who does not want to be vaccinated against covid
Although several governments and public entities in the United States have already announced the requirement that their employees receive the vaccine to return to work, Google is the first large technology company to do the same.
First returns
At the beginning of July, some of the thousands of employees that Google has in the US returned to the office for the first time since the start of the covid-19 pandemic last year, a return on a voluntary basis and that serves as evidence for the autumn.
The search engine firm already announced at the beginning of May that, once the pandemic is over, 80% of its workforce will have to return to physical jobs , while the remaining 20% will be able to telecommute permanently .
Free choice
Those who must attend the offices will have to do so on a mandatory basis only a few days a week, while the other days they will be able to choose from where they will work .
Google was one of the first large Silicon Valley companies to close its offices and promote telecommuting early last year.
Covid-19 accelerated the transition to remote work , which was already beginning to take place in the technology industry in recent years.