Google will require all of its employees coming to campus to be vaccinated and delay its workforce’s return to the office until mid-October, joining a number of public and private enterprises taking new precautions as the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 sweeps the U.S.
Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told employees in a note Wednesday that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company would begin requiring anyone on its U.S. campuses to be vaccinated in the coming weeks. He said Google would expand that requirement to other countries in future months.
Mr. Pichai said that he hoped that the vaccination requirement would give its workforce of more than 135,000 employees across more than a dozen states and 50 countries “greater peace of mind as offices open.”
“Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead,” he said.
He added that accommodations would be made for people who can’t be vaccinated for medical or other protected reasons. Those whose reasons are political will be asked to continue to work from home and speak with human resources regarding their options.
