In a letter to Hachette Book Group employees, HBG CEO Michael Pietsch confirmed that the publisher will not reopen its Manhattan and other offices, and employees will continue to work from home, until further notice.
Pietsch said, “we will not be requiring anyone whose work can be done remotely to return to any of our offices for the foreseeable future.” He blamed the situation on “the continued incidence of Covid-19 and because we would not currently be able to safely accommodate large numbers of staff in our offices.”
HBG offices in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Boulder, are open to staff who have “a strong desire or need to be in the office.” But he emphasized that attendance in each location is restricted to 10%-15% of capacity.
“We do not have any specific plans or timeline to move to further reopening phases at any HBG location at this time. Our strong preference is for employees who can work from home to continue to do so, and we will not fully reopen any HBG office until we can do so safely,” Pietsch said. He added HBG will provide employees with a six-week notice ahead of any office reopenings.
Pietsch also noted that any HBG employee that prefer to work at locations farther away from their home office “is free to do so. When we reopen fully, we will ask managers to work with their staff to make accommodations for employees who are unable to return to the office immediately.”
Pietsch said, “We are fortunate that our industry and our business have been able to adapt so well and operate so effectively, and I want to thank you again for your dedication and perseverance through this period of unprecedented challenges.”
On August 3, Penguin Random House said it was not officially opening its New York office "until some time next year." Macmillan and Simon & Schuster had previously said they weren't fully reopening their offices until January.
