Major Tech Giants Send Seattle Employees Home Amid Coronavirus Spread
Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft instruct Seattle-area staff to work remotely after confirmed cases among their workers. The broader business world also restricts travel and cancels large events to slow the outbreak.
Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft urge their Seattle-area employees to work from home as the coronavirus outbreak expands in the region. Facebook takes this step after a contractor in one of its Seattle offices tests positive for the virus, prompting the company to close that specific location until March 9 and recommend remote work for all local staff through the end of the month.
Amazon confirms that an employee at its Seattle headquarters also contracts the illness, leading the company to advise all workers in the Seattle and Bellevue areas who are able to do so to work remotely. Google and Microsoft quickly follow suit, issuing similar work-from-home recommendations for their Seattle-based employees to minimize potential exposure.
Beyond Washington State, major American companies like IBM, JPMorgan Chase, and Apple implement strict travel restrictions and transition large gatherings into virtual events. These widespread cancellations deliver a significant blow to local vendors and the broader travel industry, causing sharp declines in the stock prices of airlines, hotels, and cruise lines.