United States of America eSeries: Here come the vax mandates 💉

Here come the vax mandates 💉

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Hot vax summer is going to fade into must-vax fall. Let's get into it.

By Allison Morrow

💉 GET VAXXED

Corporate America has tried the honor system. Now it's taking a harder line to compel its employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Google and Facebook on Wednesday became two of the first major Silicon Valley companies to announce they will require employees to be vaccinated when they return to the office.

In an email to staff Wednesday, CEO Sundar Pichai said Google would also push back its return-to-office dates from Sept. 1 to Oct. 18, citing concerns about the Delta variant.

This is a big deal for a few reasons.

In Tech We Trust...

Throughout the pandemic, Big Tech firms have played an outsize role in our lives — both as the purveyors of products that make working from home possible and as bellwethers for the future of office life itself.

The question of when and how workers come back remains open, and managers are largely figuring it out as they go along in this unprecedented time. So when companies as large and powerful as Google and Facebook draw a line in the sand on vaccines, others are sure to follow.

Businesses have so far been loath to mandate vaccines, but the tide appears to be turning. On Tuesday, the Washington Post said it would require all employees to show proof of vaccination as a condition of employment. And President Joe Biden was expected to announce Thursday that all federal employees and contractors must be vaccinated or submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements.

🔺 NUMBER OF THE DAY

$57 billion

In case anyone was losing sleep over the prospect of Big Tech losing steam because the pandemic is easing … rest easy. Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft netted a combined $57 billion in profit last quarter. In profit. That's a lotta billions.

🚗 HOT WHEELS

The Great American Car Shortage isn't going to end anytime soon.

In fact, a new Goldman Sachs report says that new car inventories, which have been strained for months by the global semiconductor shortage, won't begin recovering until September — and they'll remain well below their pre-pandemic levels through next year.

That's pretty grim, especially if you need to buy a car right now.

But there are a few things prospective buyers can do to make the process a little less painful, my colleague Peter Valdes-Dapena writes.

Because inventories on both new and used cars are so low, for example, it's more important than ever to be flexible on the make and model. There are also leasing incentives out there that can get you wheels while you ride out the overheated market.

RELATED: Despite the chip shortage hobbling the auto industry, Ford posted a narrow profit in the second quarter and said it expects much better times in the second half of this year.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Being the best also means knowing how to take care of yourself.

—Athleta chief brand officer Kyle Andrew

Athleta, Visa and other sponsors are standing by Simone Biles after she decided to pull out of events at the Tokyo Olympics, citing mental health concerns. "We are inspired by her leadership today and are behind her every step of the way," Athleta's Kyle Andrew said.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

🏦 The Federal Reserve left interest rates and monetary policy unchanged on Wednesday, pointing to the nation's as yet incomplete economic recovery and the continued thread of Covid-19.

💰 Facebook more than doubled its quarterly profit to almost $10.4 billion, well above analysts' projections. But the outlook for the rest of 2021 is not so sunny — and that's Apple's fault.

🎮 Activision Blizzard's CEO admitted that the gaming company's response to a California discrimination lawsuit was "tone deaf" amid a growing employee backlash and accusations of a "frat boy" work culture.

🚀 Porsche SE, the family holding company that controls Volkswagen Group, unveiled an investment into Germany's Isar Aerospace, a startup attempting to rival Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX with rocket production and satellite launch services.

🔌 SHAMELESS PLUG

This Thursday, July 29, at 11am ET, CNN Business presents Foreseeable Future: A Conversation About The Workplace Revolution.

My colleague Kathryn Vasel will talk about the future of work with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, followed by a panel discussion with Dan Springer (DocuSign CEO), Anjali Sud (Vimeo CEO) and Alexi Robichaux (BetterUp Co-Founder & CEO).

Click here to reserve your spot.