Facebook Plans To Resume Work In Office In July At 25% Capacity And Safety Measures In Place

Facebook Inc. FB is planning to resume work in its offices starting July 6 at 25% occupancy, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

What Happened

The company is considering putting people on multiple shifts to meet social distancing requirements to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

It will also require employees to wear masks at all times in some locations, and only when in close proximity to others in the rest of the offices, Bloomberg learned.

The number of people in a meeting room at a time will be restricted, cafeteria buffets will be replaced with takeaway meals, gyms will be closed, and there will be 6-foot spaces between workstations, sources told Bloomberg. Outsiders will also be restricted from entering the office spaces.

Why It Matters

The social media giant has previously said any employee whose job doesn't require them to be present in the office can continue to work from home for the rest of the year.

Companies are planning a phased return to work as lockdowns across states in the United States are relaxed.

The two companies led by Jack Dorsey, Twitter Inc. TWTR and Square Inc. SQ, said they would let employees work remotely permanently beyond the pandemic.

Microsoft Corporation MSFT and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN have extended the return to office work to October.

Apple Inc. AAPL is planning an earlier return to normalcy, bringing back workers in phases starting late May.

Facebook Price Action

Facebook shares closed 1.7% higher at $216.88 on Tuesday and added another 0.7% in the after-hours at $218.35.