Sony’s European and North American wings will reportedly continue to pay employees who are unable to work from home during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Senior journalist Patrick Klepek tweeted that he has been briefed about an internal memo sent to employees in both regions, in which the company directed employees to continue working remotely until at least April 30th. All workers will be paid “regardless of ability to perform remote work due to job function or responsibilities.” Sony will apparently continue paying its contractors as well. According to Klepek, contractors were specifically mentioned in the memo.
But that’s not all.
Sony has reportedly offered a one-time stipend worth $1,000 to employees working from home so that they are able to purchase necessary equipment to perform their duties remotely with ease.
A day ago, Sony released an official statement to address the unprecedented situation. The company said that only a small number of its “essential” employees were working on site, while most employees in Europe, Japan, and North America continue to work from home.
“Business has been impacted by factors such as restrictions on movement of people across national borders, making it difficult for Sony to send engineers to manufacturing hubs such as China and countries in Southeast Asia for the purpose of helping with new product launches or giving instructions on manufacturing,” said Sony.
In accordance with government guidelines, Sony has shut down four manufacturing plants in China, two plants in Malaysia, and one plant in Wales. Despite this, the company doesn’t foresee any material impact on its business in the current fiscal year.
[Source: Patrick Klepek (Twitter)]
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