RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – IBM informed employees on Friday that they must be vaccinated before being allowed to work in offices, according to a memo from its chief human resources officer.

A week earlier, Red Hat – which is based in Raleigh and is owned by IBM – issued a vaccination requirement as well.

IBM still plans to reopen offices in three weeks.

“We will still open many of our U.S. sites, where local clinical conditions allow, the week of Sept. 7. However, the reopenings will only be for fully vaccinated employees who choose to come into the office,” said Nickle LaMoreaux in the memo, according to a report by Reuters news service. 

WRAL TechWire has reached out to IBM for comment.

IBM operates one of its largest campuses in RTP and employs thousands of people across North Carolina.

On Aug. 6, Red Hat employees received an email from the company’s senior vice president and chief people officer Jennifer Dudeck about vaccination requirements beginning Aug. 9.

Workplace warning: ‘Vaccine requirements are going to become the norm, not the exception’

“Increasingly, proof of vaccination has also become a requirement for customer and partner interactions, and we are working to understand how these requirements will impact Red Hatters,” the email stated.

The default option for employee location will be remote, the email stated, until the first business day of 2022.

“We ask that anyone who can work remotely please continue to do so. We will continue to make available access to offices, customers, gatherings and events where country-level conditions allow, enabling associates to make individual decisions about their best working environment,” the email stated.

IBM joins a growing list of companies requiring vaccinations, including Cisco, SAS and ChannelAdvisor.

 

Red Hat to employees: vaccines required to work at the office, remote work until 2022 ‘default’