In a major announcement, search engine giant Google has informed its employees that they can continue to work from home till the end of June next year. The decision has been taken in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak and will benefit over 2 lakh Google and Alphabet employees around the world, including India, where it has less than 5,000 workers. 

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Google has offices in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru in India. The country remains a major market for Google and the company had recently announced a $10 Billion digitisation fund to invest in companies over the next 5-7 years through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, infrastructure, and ecosystem investments.  

"To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021, for roles that don't need to be in office,” Google & Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai wrote to his employees, in an email.  

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According to the previous blog by Pichai in May, Google was planning a gradual, phased approach to reopen offices. It was supposed to have 10% building occupancy by July and 30% by September, paving way for most employees to return work by the beginning of 2021.  

"Beginning July 6, assuming external conditions allow, we’ll start to open more buildings in more cities. In the September timeframe (again, assuming conditions allow), we will further scale the rotation program, building over time to 30 percent capacity (which would mean most people who want to come in could do so on a limited basis, while still prioritizing those who need to come in)," Pichai had said.  

Initially, the tech giant had given the option to its employees of returning to work by year-end. It has now been extended by another six months.