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Microsoft to start bringing workers back to Redmond headquarters

The Microsoft logo is displayed outside the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond on July 3, 2014.
Ted S. Warren
/
The Associated Press file
The Microsoft logo is displayed outside the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond on July 3, 2014.

Microsoft will begin bringing workers back to its global headquarters in Redmond on March 29 as the tech giant starts to reopen more facilities it largely shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a post Monday on the company’s corporate blog, Executive Vice President Kurt DelBene said Microsoft has been monitoring local health data and decided it can bring more employees back to its main campus.

DelBene said workers will have the choice to return to headquarters, continue working remotely or do a combination of both.

More than 50,000 people work at the company’s headquarters campus in Redmond.

On Monday, Washington moved into Phase 3 of its COVID-19 reopening plan, meaning all of the state’s 39 counties will be allowed to relax coronavirus restrictions.

Under Phase 3, all indoor spaces — including indoor dining at restaurants, indoor fitness centers, and retail — can increase capacity from 25 percent to 50 percent. Larger events like concerts and graduation ceremonies will also be OK since up to 400 people will be allowed to gather for indoor and outdoor activities as long as physical distancing and masking are enforced.

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