Google Delays Return To Office To January 2022
GLOBAL – Search giant Google has again extended the full reopening of its workplaces across the globe, reported the New York Business Journal on Wednesday evening (1 September, SGT).
In a blog post on Tuesday, Google’s Chief Executive Sundar Pichai revealed that a “large number of offices globally are already open for business, and we are welcoming back tens of thousands of Googlers on a voluntary basis.”
“As offices continue to reopen, we hope to see more teams coming together where possible, whether it be for regular team meetings, brainstorming sessions around a whiteboard, or outdoor socials.”
However, he admitted that the COVID-19 situation across the world greatly differs. For some parts of the globe, the situation is starting to look better, but in many areas, the coronavirus outbreak continues to generate uncertainty.
“Acknowledging that, we’ll extend our global voluntary return-to-office policy through 10 January 2022 to give more Googlers flexibility and choice as they ramp back.”
“Beyond 10 January, we will enable countries and locations to make determinations on when to end voluntary work-from-home based on local conditions, which vary greatly across our offices. To make sure everyone has ample time to plan, you’ll have a 30-day heads-up before you’re expected back in the office,” added Sundar Pichai.
At present Google has about 140,000 employees across the world, with more than 1,500 in Singapore. In the city-state, the firm leases about 500,000 sq ft at Mapletree Business City II, and in 2019 it announced that it will occupy an additional 344,100 sq ft at Alexandra Technopark starting from Q1 2020.
In the state of New York, the search giant has over 11,000 full-time staff. The company has been expanding its property footprint in New York City. For instance, it has plans for 1.7 million sq ft of office space within the Hudson Square area near SoHo, Tribeca, West Village. The search giant plans to spend S$250 million this year to continue improving that office campus.
