The New York Times is encouraging staffers to work from home in anticipation of a coronavirus crisis that could prevent its staffers from coming into the office, the NY Post reports.
“We want to be able to move quickly and seamlessly to extensive home-working as an organization if and when that becomes necessary,” said a memo from publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Mark Thompson that went out to all 4,300 employees on Monday.
By Tuesday, a sizeable number of its 1,700 editorial employees were staying home, but a precise headcount was not available.
One insider, when asked how many were going that route, said, “I wouldn’t say most, but there were a lot.”
“Employees shouldn’t feel obligated to attend or travel to an external meeting, conference or event,” young Sulzberger and Thompson said in Monday’s memo. “In fact, we’d discourage it unless the activity is necessary for our reporting or business opportunity.”
A Times spokeswoman could not offer a percentage of the paper’s staff staying at home. “We’ve run extensive tests throughout the newsroom to ensure our staff can work remotely well before the virus. In the current environment, we are exploring how to flexibly implement work from home practices where it makes sense.”
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