CNN launches plan to return to office

CNN President Jeff Zucker said journalists can start returning to the network’s Atlanta office on Aug. 1, and its Los Angeles office on Sept. 1, in an employee memo tweeted by CNN reporter Oliver Darcy on Thursday.

Zucker also said that vaccinated employees could return even sooner.

“In Atlanta, we are targeting an AUGUST 1 return for our News and Sports Colleagues,” Zucker wrote. “In New York, DC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, we are targeting SEPTEMBER 1.”

In note to staff, CNN President Jeff Zucker announces plans for staff returning to the office.

“In Atlanta, we are targeting an AUGUST 1 return for our News and Sports colleagues. In New York, DC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, we are targeting SEPTEMBER 1.” pic.twitter.com/JJTfuWSFOo

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) March 11, 2021

Not everyone will return at once, Zucker added, and it will take a few weeks “to effectively get everyone back to their desks.”

Some international offices — Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi — are already open, Zucker said, and London will begin bringing more people back in April. The media outlet will consider reopening other international locations on a city-by-city basis.

Unlike The Washington Post — which announced its return-to-office plan Wednesday — Zucker said vaccinations won’t be mandatory.

“In working with WarnerMedia, the decision has been made NOT to require vaccinations to return to the office,” Zucker said. “BUT, vaccinations will be strongly ENCOURAGED for everyone who is safe to take them.” 

Staffers who can and want to work from home will likely be allowed to, Zucker said, adding there won’t be a company-wide policy spelling out who must be in CNN offices.

“Anybody who wants to return to a full-time schedule in the office will be able to do so. But for those looking for something different, we will ask for a reasonable approach from both the employees and their managers.”

On Wednesday, the Washington Post’s publisher, Fred Ryan, announced that 10 percent of Post staff will begin returning to the office on July 6, with the remainder being fully back “sometime this fall.”