Tech giant Google has reportedly instructed all 100,000 of its North American employees to work from home due to the outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus.
Gizmodo reports that tech giant Google has instructed its North American employees, numbering approximately 100,000 workers, and a number of contractors to work from home due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. The request applies to all workers who are capable of performing their job from home and will continue until April 10.
E-commerce giant Amazon instructed its employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle area to work from home last week, multiple other Silicon Valley tech firms took similar measures including Facebook and Twitter. Amazon’s decision came shortly after one of its workers in its Seattle offices tested positive for the coronavirus.
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently tweeted a link to an Axios article discussing the company’s work from home advisory and urged companies and members of the public to contribute “to social distancing if you are able to.” Pichai added that doing so would help to spread out the impact of the virus and lower the chances of healthcare systems becoming overloaded.
Google Vice President of Global Security Chris Rackow wrote in an email to staff, according to CNN: “Out of an abundance of caution, and for the protection of Alphabet and the broader community, we now recommend that you work from home if your role allows.” Rackow continued: “… The goal of businesses moving to work from home (WFH) arrangements is to significantly reduce the density of people and lower the health risk in offices, and also reduce the burden on the local community and health resourced, enabling those in need to get quicker support.”
