Coronavirus prompts majority of Google's staff to say home until 2021

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Google G Suite Vice President and General Manager Javier Soltero says he has seen ‘incredible’ growth in Google Meet use in last three months as more people work from home.

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Google on Friday confirmed to FOX Business the majority of the tech giant's employees will be working from home until 2021.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, initially told employees in an April email they could expect to return to the office for work by June 1.

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Pichai said during a Thursday meeting, however, only employees who need to return to the office can do so in June or July, but the majority of Google's other employees will likely work from home until next year, according to The Information.

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Google, like many other media companies, announced it would undergo a hiring freeze and cut its marketing budget by 50 percent in the second half of the year as it grapples with a steep decline in ad revenue, MarketWatch reported.

A number of tech giants have extended employee work-from-home policies.

Revolving entrance doors on the exterior of Google’s London Headquarters in the King’s Cross district of North London. (iStock)

Facebook employees who have the ability to work from home will also be allowed to continue their remote work through the end of the year, the company said Thursday.

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Amazon announced its staffers could continue to do so through Oct. 2 if their jobs allow them. Microsoft also confirmed Tuesday that "working from home will remain optional through October unless employees are in an essential role or local authorities mandate otherwise."

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FOX Business' Jeanette Septembre contributed to this report.

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