Google has become the first big US tech company to require its workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before they return to work on one of its campuses.
Sundar Pichai, chief executive, said that the policy would be introduced in the US “in the coming weeks” before being rolled out globally for its 144,000 employees.
The internet search group also said on Wednesday that it would delay the full reopening of its campuses until October 18 due to spread of the Delta variant, pushing back the official return to work by a month and a half.
Google’s move comes as employers around the world grapple with whether to mandate that workers be vaccinated. Since the start of the pandemic, the tech industry has moved faster to try to contain the virus than some sectors, often setting an example for other companies. For instance, they were among the first to close down their offices early last year.
The more infectious Delta variant has led to a rise in coronavirus infections across the US, particularly in areas where inoculation rates are low because people are vaccine hesitant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has warned of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, this week reversed previous guidance and said that masks should be worn indoors in areas where there is substantial Covid-19 transmission — even for vaccinated people.
Pichai told Google employees that implementation of the vaccine policy “will vary according to local conditions and regulations, and will not apply until vaccines are widely available in your area”.
The company would develop an exceptions process for people who can’t be vaccinated or “medical or other protected reasons”, he added.
Twitter said earlier this week that workers coming into its New York and San Francisco offices would need to provide proof of vaccination. Amazon, which has more than 1.3m employees globally, declined to comment on whether it would introduce mandatory vaccinations for its staff.
Starting in January, Amazon offered frontline workers who had been vaccinated an $80 bonus. For all employees, the company also has an internal vaccination certificate programme, where staff can upload proof of vaccination in order to go maskless in the workplace — a status designated by a sticker placed on an employee’s ID badge.
Other companies have taken steps to require or encourage workers to get vaccinated before returning to in-person work.
US investment bank Morgan Stanley has said it would bar unvaccinated employees and clients from its New York office, while BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said it would only open its offices to vaccinated employees.
JPMorgan has strongly encouraged its workers to get inoculated ahead of a planned return to the office, while Goldman Sachs has asked its US bankers to disclose whether they are vaccinated.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have said that new hires in the US would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The move towards mandatory vaccination in some industries has been mirrored by similar efforts in the private sector. State employees in California and New York will be required to either get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, their governors announced this week, while president Joe Biden has said a similar mandate for federal workers is under consideration.
Additional reporting by Dave Lee, Hannah Murphy and Peter Wells