Google will reopen its famous cafeterias and relaunch its shuttle service next month as employees start returning to the office
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- Google headquarters will reopen to employees on July 12.
- The company plans to reopen its cafeterias, although they are limited to certain locations.
- Google is also planning to relaunch its private shuttle program.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
Some of Google’s famous employee amenities are back when the search giant reopens its offices next month.
Google told employees earlier this week that California-based workers could return to its Mountain View headquarters starting July 12. Those who show proof of vaccination will not be required to wear a mask in the office, wrote Ruth Porat, chief financial officer at Google. in a note viewed by Hugh Langley of Insider.
Some employees will be allowed to continue working from home on a permanent basis, the company said last month.
Read more: Here’s a step-by-step guide to how performance reviews work at Google.
But for those eager to return to the Googleplex, their return after 16 months of absence will be accompanied by a reopened cafeteria and the return of the company’s private shuttle, according to Ethan Baron of The Mercury News.
A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Google’s free food is legendary: Before the pandemic, the company distributed hundreds of thousands of gourmet meals a day for free to its legions of employees. But the pandemic has made people wary of buffet meals, and the New York Times reported earlier this year that Google was moving away from buffets in favor of boxed, take-out, and individually wrapped food.
Now it looks like the cafeterias at the Googleplex will be open, although The Mercury News reports that services and options will be limited in some locations.
The company’s shuttles, which take workers from San Francisco 35 miles southeast to Mountain View, will also resume operations on July 12, but on a “slightly reduced schedule,” according to The Mercury News.
Buses have been hailed as a green alternative to solo travel. But they have also drawn criticism and outspoken protests from locals over the years who believe elites in the tech industry have contributed to income inequality in the city and have failed to tackle it. the large homeless population in the region.