According to The Oregonian, Nike will begin firing unvaccinated employees as soon as this weekend.
Back in October, Nike announced its vaccine mandate for their employees. However, the firing will not impact those who cannot receive the vaccine due to medical or religious reasons.
“You failed to complete the verification process and our records show that you do not have an approved (exemption),” reads an e-mail sent to a Nike employee last week. “As a result, you are not in compliance with the Policy and your employment is scheduled to be terminated on Saturday, January 15, 2022.”
According to the report, Nike had planned on having employees return to work on Jan. 10, but on a hybrid schedule. However, with the Omicron variant running rampant throughout the country, the return date has been rescheduled to an unknown date.
“We do believe over time that with innovation and a strong brand, we want to go to a hybrid model,” Nike CEO John Donahoe said. “As you know, in the United States we have mandated vaccines and have a very high response rate to that. So we’re ready to come back in a hybrid work environment when that’s safe.”