CARY – A resurgence of COVID is creating new challenges for Triangle tech firms that had been planning to allow workers to come back to offices.
SAS is pushing back its timeline to the full reopening of its corporate headquarters location in Cary, and the privately-held company told WRAL TechWire earlier this month that it would be until at least March 1.
IBM, which operates a large campus facility in Research Triangle Park and is the parent company of Raleigh-headquartered Red Hat, continues to allow local offices to set policies and guidance when it comes to health and safety, a spokesperson told WRAL TechWire this week. “Given the continued spread of COVID-19 and the local clinical conditions around IBM sites, local office openings are determined on a case by case basis tied to local clinical conditions in each county,” the spokesperson said. IBM recently disclosed it had made another acquisition.
Red Hat “is no longer projecting a global “return to office” date,” a spokesperson told WRAL TechWire this week. “We’ve asked Red Hatters to continue defaulting to remote work for the time being and, as conditions improve, we’ll be looking to flexibly offer greater opportunities for associates to come together.”
The company announced in early 2021 that it planned to hire some 500 employees, which the company calls “associates.”
The spokesperson also noted that the company is particularly attuned to prioritizing health and safety for its associates, including “the stress that comes from needing to be caregivers while also being employees.”
SAS pushes back full campus reopening to March 1 due to COVID surge
A spokesperson for the rapidly-growing insightsoftware, which is headquartered in Raleigh and raised $800 million and made multiple acquisitions in 2021, told WRAL TechWire that its CEO, Jim Triandiflou, has communicated to the company’s employees that the company is “not planning a “full return” to the office.”
“We’re committed to providing the flexibility to work remotely, while also maintaining physical locations for those who prefer to work in corporate offices,” the spokesperson for insightsoftware told WRAL TechWire this week. “Over the past two years, our employees have exemplified productivity in a remote-first work environment that has contributed to our company’s significant growth,” the spokesperson added.
For Durham semiconductor company Wolfspeed, which officially changed its name from Cree in 2021, the earliest possible return to work date for employees who are currently working remotely will be May 1, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to WRAL TechWire. (Editor’s Note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the date as March 1. The correct date is May 1.)
Pendo CEO Todd Olson said that the Raleigh-headquartered company, which has a new headquarters location, would not revisit its work location policies until June or July 2022 during a presentation and panel discussion hosted last week by the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
