Amazon Advises All Employees To Work From Home Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Mumbai: Amazon on Thursday issued guidance in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, which recommended that global employees who are able to work from home by the end of March.

An Amazon spokesperson said in an email statement, “We continue to work closely with public and private medical experts to ensure that we take the right precautions. As a result, we are now recommending that our globally all employees who are able to work from home can do so by the end of March.”

Earlier this week, Amazon said it would provide two weeks of additional paid time for full- and part-time employees who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or put into quarantine.

This is in addition to unlimited unpaid time for all hourly employees by the end of March. The company said it would continue to pay all hourly employees, including food service, watchmen and security personnel, who support its offices around the world.

Amazon employs some 798,000 employees. While some of Amazon’s office workers will be able to work from home, most of its workforce has jobs they must have on-site. The company is dependent on thousands of delivery drivers and employees who work at more than 100 order fulfilment centres.

Amazon’s move follows global health officials’ call to slow the spread of COVID-19 to a new virus-caused disease that is a member of the coronavirus family and a close cousin of the SARS and MERS viruses.

COVID-19 caused governments and companies to cancel worldwide tech, business and automotive events, including the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, professional sports games in the NBA and NHL, MWC in Barcelona and SWSW Festival in Barcelona. In Austin, Texas. Disneyland and California Adventure will be closed by the end of the month.

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