Facebook employees in the U.S. won't need to return to office until January 2022

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Facebook decided to allow most of its employees to work from home through the end of 2020. Then, a few weeks ago, the company was planning to have its offices fully reopened by October, but that plan will be postponed a bit longer.

Facebook confirmed to Bloomberg that it has pushed back plans to resume full office operations later this year due to a surge in cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19. Instead, the social media giant wants employees in the U.S. to return to the office by January 2022. It also expects its offices in other countries to follow suit.

A company representative said in a statement that the new decision is based on data relating to the growing number of Delta variant infections across the country. Facebook also vowed to constantly monitor the situation "and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone’s safety.”

Facebook previously planned to allow 50% of its employees to return to office by September, but that will now be shelved as a result. Employees were also required to have full vaccination before they could go back to their offices. That same requirement will presumably apply when full office operations kick off early in 2022.

Source: Bloomberg