Fox Delays Return to Office Work Until April Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases

Company will continue to have small group of on-site staff

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Amid the still-resurging pandemic, Fox is delaying its return to office a few more months, telling employees on Friday to expect to work from home until April at the earliest.

“It was our hope that the trajectory of the pandemic would be such that we could begin our reopening in January 2021. However, with cases continuing to rise, we have delayed our next possible phase one reopening date to no earlier than April 2021,” Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a memo. “With most employees continuing to work remotely through at least the end of March, we are able to maintain a low density in our offices for those employees whose jobs do require them to be on site.”

The announcement comes as Fox News’ on-air talent continues to publicly challenge COVID restrictions that have been stepped up in multiple states amid a spike in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The U.S. hit another grim record on Thursday in daily confirmed cases (183,000) and hospitalizations (81,000), along with a record number of tests conducted (1.8 million). Thursday also saw the highest amount of deaths (1,971) since early May.

Here is Murdoch’s full memo below:

Dear Colleagues,

As we approach Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on the struggles and strengths of the past year. We have endured the personal and professional changes caused by the pandemic, and my thoughts are with the many of you whose lives and families have been personally impacted by COVID-19.

Over the past eight months, our teams have been working together more closely than ever despite the physical separation. It was our hope that the trajectory of the pandemic would be such that we could begin our reopening in January 2021. However, with cases continuing to rise, we have delayed our next possible phase one reopening date to no earlier than April 2021. We made this decision with the well-being of the entire FOX organization in mind. With most employees continuing to work remotely through at least the end of March, we are able to maintain a low density in our offices for those employees whose jobs do require them to be on site.

All of you – whether working on site or remotely – have played an important role in our ability to successfully operate our business and deliver the news, sports and entertainment our viewers count on and need. You have done so much for FOX and we are pleased to show our appreciation by extending our coverage of full-time employees’ health insurance premiums for the entirety of calendar 2021. In March 2020, we began paying full-time employees’ health insurance premiums and will now continue to do so through December 31, 2021.

Thank you for all that you do for our company and each other. Please enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and know that we are here to support you.

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