Twitter on Wednesday announced that it was closing its New York City and San Francisco offices and pausing all other office reopenings, in response to the latest CDC warnings about COVID-19.
The Silicon Valley firm had already, in May 2020, become the first major tech company to allow staffers to work from home permanently, even after coronavirus lockdowns end.
On Wednesday it said it was closing its two largest offices.
‘We continue to monitor local conditions and make necessary changes that prioritize the health and safety of our Tweeps.’
The decision was made just two weeks after reopening the offices in both cities.
On Tuesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that fully vaccinated Americans in parts of the country with ‘substantial or high transmission’ of COVID-19 should return to wearing masks indoors, citing new data on the highly contagious Delta variant.
The CDC also said masks should be required of everyone inside K-12 schools while urging classrooms to return to full-time, in-person classes ‘with proper prevention strategies’ in place.
The agency recommended that all vaccinated people consider wearing a mask if someone in their household was unable to be protected by the vaccine, like those with compromised immune systems or children who are too young to receive a shot, regardless of transmission levels in their community.
Jennifer Christie, Twitter’s human resources chief, said in March 2020 that the company would ‘never probably be the same’ in its work culture post-pandemic.
‘People who were reticent to work remotely will find that they really thrive that way,’ she said.
‘Managers who didn’t think they could manage teams that were remote will have a different perspective. I do think we won’t go back.’
Twitter had previously required employees to show proof of vaccination before returning, said Adrian Zamora, a Twitter spokesman, speaking to The San Francisco Chronicle.
The company is allowing employees to continue remote work permanently if they choose, but will maintain its office space