Mercedes’ headquarters just outside Atlanta, Georgia have been empty since mid-March, and that’s not about to change any time soon. In fact, the carmaker has ordered its 875 headquarter employees to finish out the year at home.
This directive could remain in effect next year as well, as it’s set to become the new norm, at least for the time being.
“Working remotely was the exception – for the foreseeable future, it will become the norm,” said Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Nicholas Speeks in an interview with Autonews last week.
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With the state of Georgia going into lockdown in mid-March, Mercedes employees have had to conduct business from living room couches, kitchen tables and patio chairs. However, things have been going smoothly, according to Speeks.
“We are able to function effectively and it gives people an opportunity,” for better work-life balance, added the CEO, who went on to describe this work-from-home policy as a “trial” without a firm expiration.
“We are going to see how that goes. It gives us an opportunity to dry something different,” he commented.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the German carmaker is giving up on its relatively recently built Atlanta HQ, especially since some of the company’s employees actually prefer working from their office.
“We still need to occasionally have some physical meetings in a post-COVID world. We also have to allow for the fact that some people like to come into the office.”
Mercedes is just one of many major firms to extend their remote-work plans, joining the likes of Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
