This browser does not support the Video element.
Amazon pushes back return-to-office to January 2022
Seattle-based retail giant Amazon has delayed its return to the office for US corporate employees to January 3, 2022.
SEATTLE - Starting Monday, Amazon will be requiring all of its 900,000 U.S. warehouse workers to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.
The move follows steps by a slew of other retailers, including Walmart and Target, to mandate masks for their workers. In many of those cases the mandates apply to workers in locations of substantial COVID-19 transmission.
Amazon said Friday that its call for a nationwide mask mandate for its warehouse workers was in response to the spread of COVID-19 variants in the U.S., and guidance from public health authorities and its own medical experts. Amazon has been requiring only warehouse workers not vaccinated against COVID-19 wear masks.
RELATED: Amazon pushes back return-to-office to January 2022
This browser does not support the Video element.
Impact on businesses as Amazon delays return to office to 2022
President of the Downtown Seattle Association, Jon Scholes, talks about how more people are coming downtown and bringing back business to small local shops and restaurants.
Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said last week that rising coronavirus infections linked to the delta variant are pushing the company to get more workers vaccinated. It’s also working with local authorities on safety measures.
So far, Seattle-based Amazon has not required its employees to be vaccinated. But Disney and Walmart announced vaccine mandates for white-collar workers, and Microsoft, Google and Facebook said they will require proof of vaccination for employees and visitors to their U.S. offices.
Earlier this week, Tyson Foods announced it will require all U.S. employees to get vaccinated by November, becoming one of the first major employers of front-line workers to do so amid surging cases of the virus.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Stay connected with Q13 News on all platforms:
DOWNLOAD: Q13 News and Weather Apps
WATCH: Q13 News Live
SUBSCRIBE: Q13 FOX on YouTube
DAILY BRIEF: Sign Up For Our Newsletter
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram