Online retail giant Amazon Inc has reportedly told staff whose job can be done from home that they can do so until at least October 2, Reuters reported.
Brushing out the timeline on a return to work for many employees, the move is seen as an outcome of the scrutiny the company is facing over conditions in its warehouses.
“Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so until at least October 2,” an Amazon spokesman said in an emailed statement, while adding that it was applicable to such roles globally.
However, the statement did not specify how much of the company’s overall workforce is covered under this directive and which roles.
The statement also said that the company is investing funds in safety measures for employees who wish to come to the office “through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and the availability of face coverings and hand sanitizer.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James told Amazon last week it may have violated safety measures and labor practices amid the virus outbreak as the company fired a warehouse protest leader in March.
Recently, Amazon Web Services VP, Tim Bray resigned from his position in in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, in France, the E-commerce giant was recently ordered to close its warehouses. The company has been ordered to limit deliveries to essential goods such as food and medical supplies. The company has six warehouses in France.
Workers at warehouses and other facilities have stayed operational to keep deliveries flowing to customers stuck at home in government-mandated lockdowns.
Other employees have been working from home since March.
The company has raised overtime pay for warehouse workers and hired 1,75,000 people last month while rival brick-and-mortar retailers had to shut stores. It had 7,98,000 full and part-time workers globally as of December 31.
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.