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Microsoft To Fully Reopen Headquarters on Sept. 7
Microsoft now plans to fully reopen its Redmond, Wash.-based campus headquarters on Sept. 7, according to a press account.
The details come from veteran Microsoft reporter Mary Jo Foley in this ZDNet article. The shift was explained in an April 1 internal note sent to Microsoft employees by Kurt DelBene, a Microsoft executive vice president, according to Foley. DelBene, who is planning to retire at the end of Microsoft's fiscal year, had originally outlined Microsoft's six-stage reopening plans in this announcement, which offered the following illustration:
[Click on image for larger view.] Microsoft's six-stage workplace reopening plans. (Source: Microsoft blog)
The full reopen milestone is marked at Stage 6, when COVID-19 is "no longer a significant burden on the local community" and is deemed more like the common flu, DelBene had explained. With the latest update to Microsoft's plans, that full reopen milestone is expected to occur on Sept. 7, rather than July 6, according to Foley's account.
A "soft reopening" of the Redmond campus, where employees are still encouraged to work from home, supposedly already kicked off on March 31.
In other inside-scoop news, Foley reported this week that Microsoft Build, Microsoft's event for developers, is expected to take place on May 25 to May 27.
Microsoft doesn't appear to have posted such information about its next Build event. However, Foley said the dates had been "leaked a couple of times over the past few weeks."
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.