The first employees to return will be those who need “access to special equipment” and whose jobs require them them to be in the office, Pichai stated.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai detailed to employees how the company’s offices will slowly begin reopening as early as June, with 10% to 15% of workers in the office at any time, according to an internal email viewed by CNBC. However, the majority of people who are able to work from home will continue to do so, perhaps through the end of the year.
“We’re starting to really get the hang of these virtual meetings, though I do miss the experience of having so many of us in the same place,” Pichai wrote in an email to full-time employees on Thursday night. “It may be a while before that’s possible. Our ramp back to the office will be slow, deliberate and incremental.”
Pichai also addressed employee burnout, telling workers to take a day off in late May.
The update comes after Pichai previously told workers offices would remain closed until at least June 1, when the company would begin enacting a “staggered” approach to returning workers based on the latest conditions of the pandemic. Workers were also hoping they’d be able return within reason so they could access the campuses’ many amenities they’ve gone without since working from home.
