Monday, 23 Dec 2024

Ford Delays Return to Office Till Next Year, May Require Vaccines

Ford is joining the growing list of companies pushing back their return to the office date, telling employees they will not be back till next year.

A growing number of companies are pushing back their return to the office amid the surge in COVID cases. The Delta variant has pushed cases and hospitalizations to their highest point in months, and have resulted in “breakthrough” cases among vaccinated individuals. As a result, many companies are concerned about bringing people back into enclosed office spaces.

Ford had already embraced hybrid work for its employees whose jobs are not location-dependent. The company has now told employees they will not have to come back to the office at all until at least early next year, according to Bloomberg.

“We didn’t feel comfortable bringing them back based on the Covid data we see today,” Kiersten Robinson, Ford’s human resources chief, told Bloomberg in an interview.

The company is also considering a wider vaccine mandate, beyond just those employees that travel internationally, and is engaging with employees to help inform its decision.

“We’re collecting feedback from employees around why they would or would not get vaccinated,” Robinson said.