When the coronavirus pandemic first devastated the country, many non-essential businesses were forced to close their doors to the public, and instead set up their employees to work from home for the time being. As a result, many businesses that are renting space for their operations are now unable to make next month’s rent, causing the Prime Minister to remind commercial landlords to apply for the federal government’s rent relief program.
In his statement, Justin Trudeau gave a stern warning, implying that if the commercial landlords do not act now to alleviate some of financial hardships businesses are faced with, they may not have those businesses to rely on as a source of income in the future – given that a post-pandemic world could be much different. Turns out, the Prime Minister was not straying too far off into the abyss.
According to a recent Tweet put out by Shopify (TSX: SHOP) (NYSE: SHOP), the Canadian e-commerce company plans to keep its labour force working remotely – even after the pandemic is over. The company plans to keep its offices closed until 2021, and from thereafter will only have the truly necessary positions located in the office, while the remainder of the workforce will be stationed from their home permanently.
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Shopify currently employs approximately 5,000 people, which were, prior to the pandemic, mostly stationed at the company’s headquarters in downtown Ottawa. Prior to the pandemic, Shopify had plans to open another office in Vancouver, but those plans may be put on hold for the time being.
Twitter had also recently announced it will be allowing their staff to work from home permanently if they so chose. It appears that this work-from-home trend is gaining quite a bit of traction, and it won’t be long until significantly more companies and businesses begin introducing such options to their employees.
Information for this briefing was found via CBC and Twitter. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
