In a memo sent to staff internally by the news media company on Thursday, Aug. 5, CNN President Jeff Zucker told employees that the company has a zero-tolerance policy on such instances and required its employees to be vaccinated to come to the office or to work on the field with other employees.
The memo was obtained by the Associated Press after its contents were first tweeted by CNN reporter Oliver Darcy. The company offered no details on the firings or where the employees were based.
"In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated. Let me be clear – we have a zero-tolerance policy on this," Zucker said in the memo.
He added that showing proof of vaccination may become a formal part of the process for gaining access to the network's workplaces in the weeks ahead. (Related: Fauci tells CNN he thinks there "should be more" local COVID-19 vaccine mandates.)
The network is one of several news organizations, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, Politico and Insider, that require staffers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment or if they want to come back to work in person.
In the same memo, Zucker announced that CNN would delay its mandatory return to office from Sept. 7 likely to mid-October due to the surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant. "I think it is fair to say that we are all feeling a mix of anticipation, anxiety, frustration, confusion and exasperation. I get it," Zucker wrote in the memo.
The rise in delta variant infections has driven many companies in the private sector to reinstate mask mandates and take a harder line on requiring vaccination against COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 70.8 percent of Americans 18 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday – with 60.8 percent considered fully vaccinated.
Big Tech wants employees to be vaccinated before returning to office
Many large companies have said they will require employees to be vaccinated against the virus in order to return to the office.
On July 28, Facebook announced that it will require workers returning to its offices to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. "As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our U.S. campuses to be vaccinated," Facebook's VP of People Lori Goler said in a statement. "How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations."
According to Goler, Facebook will create processes for those who can't be vaccinated for medical or other reasons. Facebook had already told full-time employees that most of them could continue working from home beyond the pandemic if their jobs could be done remotely.
The social media giant hasn't delayed its reopening plans for this fall, and a spokesman said that data would guide the company's decisions. Facebook has previously said it would likely open most of its U.S. offices at half capacity in September, and then fully in October.
"Expert guidelines state that vaccines are highly effective at preventing variants of COVID-19, including the delta variant," a Facebook spokesman said. "Our timelines to reopen our offices haven't changed."
Also on July 28, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that they must be vaccinated before returning to the office. He said that the company would delay its return to office plans by one month, citing the fast-spreading delta variant.
Amazon also encouraged employees and contractors to be vaccinated. The company's current guidelines don't appear to require vaccination in order to return to its offices, though unvaccinated employees are required to wear masks. Face coverings are optional for those who have verification of being fully vaccinated.
On July 27, the CDC walked back its earlier mask guidance for fully vaccinated people, saying that they should again wear masks indoors in places with high transmission rates. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the change was due to new information on the delta variant, showing that some vaccinated people infected by the strain could still spread it to others. (Related: CDC is HIDING data showing that covid vaccines are failing miserably in dealing with the delta variant.)
Delta variant ruins return-to-office plans of companies
The surge in COVID-19 cases is giving some companies and workers pause over looming return-to-office plans, even as a number of employers push ahead and reopen workplaces. The delta variant is the most contagious version of the virus to be identified. In a matter of weeks, it has become the most common strain in the U.S., accounting for 83 percent of analyzed infections.
Apple earlier told its workers that its back-to-the-office timeline would be delayed at least until October. The company also promised to give employees at least one month's notice before recalling them to an office.
Executives at Citigroup Inc. have said the company is letting data determine its return-to-work plans. The company hasn't set an office return date but said it expects to come back in September.
Some companies can't wait to have employees back at the office. Netflix Inc. Chairman and co-CEO Reed Hastings wants to get the streaming giant's 9,000 employees back in the office. "Not being able to get together in person, particularly internationally, is a pure negative," Hastings said.
Netflix is encouraging its workers to return to the office at least part-time after Labor Day, but keeping it voluntary, people familiar with the company's plans said.
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