RALEIGH – Employees as well as contractors at Red Hat were told Thursday morning that they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or lose their jobs.

Deadline to get a vaccine jab is Nov. 29.

So said CEO Paul Cormier in an email and blog post.

“To comply with new U.S. government regulations mandating that employees of federal contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19. As a government contractor, Red Hat must and will require all associates and contractors in the United States to be vaccinated,” Cormier wrote.

To add emphasis to the news, the sentence was bold faced in the blog.

Red Hat is not alone in requiring vaccinations or workers losing jobs. So does software firm SAS in Cary. Other firms, such as Cree [now named Wolfspeed] are offering incentives to employees in order to get vaccinated.

SAS to workers: Get vaccinated or you could be fired

Red Hat, which is part of IBM, is based in downtown Raleigh. It has some 3,700 workers spread across the Triangle, according to a company spokesperson.

IBM in August said it required employees to be vaccinated before returning to offices for work. But that changed later Thursday when Big Blue announced it will require workers to be vaccinated by Dec. 9 or being put on an upaid leave of absence.

IBM: Workers must be vaccinated or ‘put on unpaid leave of absence’

The vaccine requirement is “another important step” toward safety,the Red Hat exec added.

“Red Hat supports the view that vaccination is the best way to contribute to ending the pandemic, and we are demonstrating our commitment to keeping our colleagues, customers, and communities safe,” Cormier continued.

IBM requires employees be vaccinated before returning to offices, report says

“Red Hat’s top priority remains the health and safety of our associates,” Cormier wrote. “Throughout the pandemic, we have encouraged vaccination globally, given associates time off to get vaccinated, sponsored vaccination clinics, covered the cost of vaccination for associates in countries where a free vaccine was not available, and required vaccination for associates re-entering offices.”

Triangle firms delaying reopenings, requiring vaccinations to deal with ‘Delta’

“In order to comply, by November 29, 2021, associates and contractors must demonstrate proof of full vaccination as a requirement for continued employment.”

This sentence also was bold faced.

“This requirement extends to all U.S. associates and contractors no matter if they work from a Red Hat office, a customer or partner site, or are fully remote,” Cormier added.

There will be some exceptions, but those are limited, he noted.

“In keeping with government requirements, frequent testing or recovery from COVID-19 will not be accepted in lieu of vaccination. We are working to set up a convenient, privacy-sensitive process for associates to submit their proof of vaccination or accommodation request, with additional details to come,” Cormier said.

Vaccination mandates becoming more widespread – but opposition remains