Twitter will let some employees work from home ‘forever’

The decision reflects how some of the measures implemented to deal with this pandemic can lead to new norms for American companies, even after an immediate health crisis.

“If our employees are in roles and situations that allow them to work from home and they want to continue to do it forever, we will make it happen,” Twitter vice president of people, Jennifer Christie, said in a statement to CNN Business. “If not, our offices will be their warm and friendly selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel safe to return.”

The company does not expect to open most of its offices, or support business trips, before September. It has also canceled all internal company events until 2020, and has the potential to extend them to 2021, the statement said.

Twitter’s shift to allow permanent long distance work is first reported by BuzzFeed News, which cites emails to employees sent by CEO Jack Dorsey. Twitter did not respond to CNN Business’s request to confirm the memo.

Twitter’s announcement comes as more and more Silicon Valley companies, once known for their luxurious office facilities and extensive campus, now seem to compete with each other to offer the longest time schedule for telecommunications as the health crisis continues.

Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL) It was confirmed to CNN Business last week that they would let many employees continue to work from home until the end of the year. Amazon (AMZN) said employees can work from home until at least early October.

For some large technology companies, following Twitter’s lead by allowing telecommuting indefinitely may incur costs. Businesses like Apple and Google have one each spend billions in office space in the last few years.

Because Twitter has shifted to semi-permanent work, it also slows recruitment. Twitter has planned to increase its workforce by 20% this year, according to financial reports. But because of the pandemic, he postponed the plan in an effort to control “the growth in total spending,” only employing in important fields including engineering and products, as well as its trust and security division.