Amazon Restricts Employees From Traveling to China Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak

The coronavirus continues to spread with over 7,000 people now affected and several companies are making moves to protect their employees.

Amazon is one of these companies and it has started to restrict all non-essential employee travel to the country. The e-commerce giant said it is banning travel there “until further notice,” according to a CNBC report citing an Amazon spokesperson.

“We place tremendous value and focus on the well-being and safety of our employees,” the Amazon spokesperson said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are restricting business travel to and from China until further notice and encouraging our employees to follow the health and safety guidelines provided by international health agencies such as the CDC and WHO,” they added.

If any Amazon employee must travel to China, they have to receive approval first. The company also recommended that employees who are or expect to travel back from one of the affected provinces of China to work from home for two weeks.

If the employee starts to experience symptoms, they are urged employees to seek medical attention before returning to the office.

Amazon operates in offices in several cities in China including Beijing, Shenzen, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The company does not have operations in Wuhan where the virus began.

Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Apple have also announced similar moves. Disney, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Ford Motor have either suspended operations or instituted travel restrictions there.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and have not been compensated for this article.