Here’s when Lowe’s corporate employees will return to the office after COVID delays

Another Charlotte area regional employer has delayed its planned return to corporate offices until the new year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lowe’s delayed the first phase of returning workers to offices at its Mooresville headquarters campus until the end of January because of continued pandemic uncertainties and out of caution for the health and safety of workers, spokesman Steve Salazar confirmed Wednesday.

The company had planned to bring workers back to its offices in early October, the Observer previously reported in July, before COVID-19 cases began to spike again this summer.

Lowe’s has more than 6,000 employees at its Mooresville headquarters.

Once workers return, Lowe’s will move to a hybrid workplace model, a mix of in-office and remote work, Salazar said. That allows for social distancing, he said, and helps the company attract and retain workers.

All about Lowe’s

Lowe’s has about 300,000 workers and 1,973 home improvement and hardware stores in the U.S. and Canada.

In August, Lowe’s implemented mask requirements for employees working indoors, regardless of vaccination status, as COVID-19 cases spiked.

Lowe’s opening of its global tech hub center in South End also has been pushed back until next year because of construction delays caused by the pandemic.

Other companies delay office return

Some other major employers in the Charlotte region also delayed their office returns until next year.

Wells Fargo set a new return date of Jan. 10 after several return-date changes, the Observer has reported. The San Francisco-based financial and banking center has more than 27,000 employees in Charlotte.

Red Ventures in Fort Mill, S.C., reopened its headquarters in August on a voluntary basis. It also has hours for vaccinated and unvaccinated workers. The Internet marketing company has about 1,400 employees in the Charlotte area.

And Belk said the majority of its 1,200 corporate employees will continue to work remotely, after the department store chain said this summer it would sublease its West Tyvola Road headquarters. The Charlotte-based company is considering using excess space in local stores for meeting rooms and offices.