Microsoft is reportedly allowing employees to work from home until Monday due to coronavirus fears

Ashley Stewart

Mar 4, 2020, 22:12 IST

Microsoft is reportedly allowing employees to work from home until Monday due to coronavirus fears

Microsoft is allowing employees in the Seattle area and San Francisco work from home through March 9 due to coronavirus fears, The Verge reported Wednesday.
The news comes after Business Insider reported that some employees were concerned Microsoft's internal response to the outbreak was insufficient.
Microsoft has yet to respond to a request for more information, and hasn't said whether any employees have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
Read more stories on Business Insider's homepage.

Microsoft is reportedly allowing employees in the Seattle area and San Francisco work from home through March 9 in response to fears of a coronavirus outbreak.

The Verge reported the news on Wednesday based on an internal memo. Microsoft has yet to respond to a request to confirm and Business Insider has not reviewed the memo.

On Monday, Business Insider reported that some employees were concerned Microsoft's internal response to the outbreak was insufficient. Microsoft, according to an email reviewed by Business Insider, at the time had stopped short of pausing business travel but asked employees to discuss any travel concerns with management.

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Two employees, who spoke with Business Insider on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak but whose identities are known to us, said the company's response was "disappointing" and didn't measure up to the steps taken by other companies. Salesforce, for example, has paused nonessential travel for its 50,000 employees.

Other Microsoft employees discussed on Twitter whether it's appropriate to leave the decision about whether employees should travel up to their bosses.

Microsoft has not said whether any employees have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Amazon confirmed on Tuesday an employee in its Seattle headquarters office, plus two employees in Milan, Italy, tested positive. There have been more than 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in more than a dozen states in the US, as well as nine deaths from the illness, all in Washington State, where Microsoft and Amazon are headquartered.