Across the United States, CNN is shuttering several of its offices for nonessential employees. The network revealed this decision over the weekend in an internal memo to staff, which has been subsequently obtained by Reuters.
CNN is part of the WarnerMedia division at AT&T, and it intends to shutter its offices for all employees whose presence is not mandated in the office.
According to Jeff Zucker, the President of CNN, the network is “doing this out of an abundance of caution” regarding the omicron variant.
Zucker added that the decision “will also protect those who will be in the office by minimizing the number of people who are there.”
For the employees whose presence is required, they will be mandated to wear masks at all times, according to CNN.
Furthermore, CNN also intends to make several changes to its control rooms and studios in order to minimize the number of individuals present in its offices.
The internal memo was initially reported by the Wall Street Journal.
CNN has currently set a potential return to office date in January 2022. However, it remains unclear whether or not the anticipated date will move later into the year, depending upon the spread of the omicron variant.
In addition to shuttering offices and mandating masks, CNN is also requiring for all employees who work in the office, as well as all the employees who work out in the field with other employees, to have been fully vaccinated against COVID.
Over the summer, CNN fired three of its employees for coming to its offices without being vaccinated.
