Google delays office return until January as COVID-19 worries linger

Alphabet Inc-owned Google is extending its voluntary return-to-office policy through January next year, CEO Sundar Pichai said on Tuesday, citing uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in many parts of the world.

The rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant is also making companies reconsider their mask mandates and vaccination policies.

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"Beyond January 10, we will enable countries and locations to make determinations on when to end voluntary work-from-home based on local conditions," Pichai said in an email to employees.

In the last few weeks, companies including Amazon.com Inc and Lyft delayed their return-to-office timelines to 2022 for U.S. workers due to the pandemic. 

Google had earlier delayed its return-to-office policy from September to October. It was one of the first companies to ask its employees to work from home due to the health crisis.