Companies rethink return-to-office plans amid Omicron cases

Google and Ford Co are among those once again delaying their return-to-office plans, while other businesses whose workers are already back to the office are considering adding extra precautions like masks and doing Covid-19 testing. — AP

NEW YORK: Companies of all sizes are rethinking their plans to send workers back to the office as the new Omicron variant adds another layer of uncertainty.

Alphabet’s Google and the US’s second largest automaker Ford Motor Co are among those once again delaying their return-to-office plans, while other businesses whose employees have already returned are considering adding extra precautions like requiring masks. Officials in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and Sweden also have asked people in recent days to work from home if they can because of concerns about the variant.