(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google is delaying its return-to-office plan in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Business Insider reported on Thursday, citing a company memo.
Google had previously extended its voluntary return-to-office policy until Jan. 10, beyond which it said it would allow countries and locations to decide when to end voluntary work-from-home based on local conditions.
On Thursday, Matt Brittin, Google’s president for the EMEA region, told employees that the company would put off that deadline beyond that date, according to the report.
The U.S. or North America employees have not yet received any guidance regarding changes in office return plans, the report added.
Google, which was one of the first companies to ask its employees to work from home due to the pandemic, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Europe has so far recorded 79 cases of the Omicron variant, first detected in southern Africa last month, the European Union’s public health agency said earlier on Thursday.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Anil D’Silva)
