Meta offers deferral program for employees unready to return to office

FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with Meta logo and a 3D printed Facebook logo is placed on a laptop keyboard in this illustration taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/

(Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc said on Tuesday it will fully reopen its U.S. offices on Jan. 31 next year while giving its employees an opportunity to delay their scheduled return by three to five months.

The social media giant's new "office deferral program" will ensure that its employees have flexibility in returning back to offices, Meta said.