Amazon extends remote work option to mid-2021 for some employees

(FILES) In this file photo the Amazon logo is viewed at the 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, on February 5, 2019. Amazon said on october 21, 2020 it would extend the option of working from home for many of its employees until mid-2021 as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority, and it will be some time before things return to normal,” the US technology and retail giant said in a blog post. Johannes EISELE / AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) —Amazon said Wednesday it would extend the option of working from home for many of its employees until mid-2021 as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The health and safety of our employees is our top priority, and it will be some time before things return to normal,” the US technology and retail giant said in a blog post.

“Accordingly, work that can effectively be done from home can continue to be done from home through June 30, 2021.”

It was not immediately clear how many of Amazon’s employees would be eligible for remote work.

The Seattle-based titan had nearly 900,000 employees worldwide earlier this year, and was expected to hire more than 100,000 seasonal workers. But many work in warehouses and retail stores or handle deliveries, and thus would not be able to work remotely.

Rival tech firms Google and Facebook are not expecting workers to return to their campuses until the middle of next year at the earliest. Others like Twitter and Slack have said employees may work remotely indefinitely.