Amazon pushes back corporate reopening

Amazon has pushed back its corporate return-to-office date until the beginning of 2022, the company confirmed Thursday.

The e-commerce giant had previously anticipated having its workers back in offices regularly starting the week of Sept. 7, but adjusted plans as a new surge in coronavirus cases sets back reopenings across the country.

Amazon is not yet requiring its corporate staff to be vaccinated to return to the office, unlike tech competitors Microsoft and Facebook.

The Seattle Times first reported Amazon was pushing its opening date to Jan. 3.

While Amazon’s corporate employees have been working remotely since the onset of the pandemic, the company’s nearly 1 million warehouse workers in the United States have been in person the whole time.

Workers in facilities have complained that Amazon has not done enough to protect them from COVID-19, and have organized several walkouts calling for hazard pay bumps and protective equipment. 

Amazon revealed in October that more than 19,000 of its employees had tested positive for the coronavirus but has not released updated figures since.