Shopify Gives Employees $1,000 Each to Build Home Offices

E-commerce platform Shopify is reportedly giving employees $1,000 each to build out their work-from-home setups after ordering its staff to work remotely due to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

Business Insider reports that e-commerce platform Shopify is providing employees with a budget of $1,000 each to buy what they need to work from home as the company directs all employees to work remotely from March 16 onwards.

Shopify recently instructed its 5,000 employees across 11 different countries to work from home, following in the footsteps of Facebook, Google, Twitter, and multiple other tech firms that have sent employees home as the Wuhan coronavirus spreads. A source familiar with Shopify told Business Insider that the firm is providing employees with a stipend to pay for any office equipment they may need to work remotely.

Shopify announced via a tweet that its employees would work from home starting March 16 to “play a part in reducing the spread of the virus.”

An individual with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider that Shopify employees are also allowed to bring home whatever equipment they need from its offices in order to do their work from home.

Amazon instructed its employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle area to work from home last week, multiple other Silicon Valley tech firms took similar measures including Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Amazon’s decision came shortly after one of its workers in its Seattle offices tested positive for the coronavirus. Amazon has also stated that it won’t penalize warehouse workers for taking unpaid time off during the month of March.

Apple is facing a different effect of the virus, with the outbreaks overseas causing huge issues with its supply chain. Recent statistics from the Chinese government show that Apple sold just 500,000 iPhones in China last month, less than half of its usual figure.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com