Facebook plans to start opening offices in the Bay Area in May, depending on local data from COVID, the company said on Friday.
“The health and safety of our employees and neighbors in the community is our highest priority and we are taking a measured approach to reopening offices,” said Facebook spokeswoman Chloe Meyere. “When we return to the office, we have a series of safety protocols in place, including physical distance and masks required at all times in the office and, whenever possible, weekly testing requirements for everyone who works on site.
Three counties in the Bay Area – Santa Clara, Marin and San Francisco – moved this week to the less restrictive layer of California’s orange coronavirus, which allows offices to reopen with modifications. San Mateo County changed to orange level last week.
Uber said on Friday it would begin opening its new headquarters building in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood on Monday.
Facebook will begin the reopening of the Bay Area on May 10 at its headquarters in Menlo Park, said Meyere. Fremont’s office will follow on May 17, Sunnyvale’s office on May 24 and its offices in two towers in downtown San Francisco on June 7, she said. The offices will initially be opened with a maximum capacity of 10% of people seated, on an opt-in basis for employees who now work remotely, she said.
“This is a table in a physically distant room with security protocols,” said Meyere.
In announcing the return to office plan, social media giant Menlo Park cited the increased availability of COVID vaccines, but warned that the reopenings depend on health data that show continued improvement.
Facebook gave employees around the world until July 2 to continue working from home, and is now moving to a site-by-site approach, he said. The company said the data indicated that the earliest that it could open large offices, such as the Menlo Park headquarters at 50% capacity, would be after the first week of September.
Facebook expects that as soon as conditions allow an office to reach 50% capacity, employees assigned to that office and still working remotely will be asked to return a month later, Meyere said.
The company plans to start reopening its Seattle offices next month, also at 10% capacity, said Meyere.
Decisions about bringing workers back to offices will be based on data, including local COVID fees, vaccination fees, access to testing and treatment, government guidance and health data from sources such as the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Organization Health, as well as Stanford Health.
Facebook employees will not need to be vaccinated to return to the office, but the company is encouraging its employees to get the vaccine, said Meyere.
Employee perks, including free food and shuttle buses, will remain on hold indefinitely, although transportation stipends are available for workers returning to offices, Meyere said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last year that he expects half the company’s workforce to be remote in five to 10 years. However, Meyere said, “We are still committed to our offices.”
The San Francisco Chronicle first reported on Facebook’s new reopening plan.
Uber, which previously had extended its policy of working from home until September 13, said it would open its new headquarters with 20% capacity on Monday, on a voluntary basis. “As one of the world’s largest platforms for local transport, we know that Uber has a critically important role to play in bringing cities back to life,” said the attraction giant by email, adding that its security protocols COVID meet or exceed global, national and local guidelines. Masks will be required in the office, and the desks will be at least two meters apart, the company said.