Raytheon requires U.S. workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Reuters) – Raytheon, the missile maker Tomahawk, will require all U.S. employees to have a vaccine against COVID-19, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Employees are expected to be fired in mid-December to meet a Jan. 1 deadline for vaccination, a source familiar with the policy said.

“In accordance with our ongoing commitment to maintaining the safety and health of employees, Raytheon Technologies will require its U.S. employees to be fully vaccinated to further protect employees and communities from the risks and uncertainty of COVID-19 and its variants, “the statement said.

“The expectation is that employees meet the requirement and, if they don’t, like any company policy, there are levels of disciplinary action that could be considered, even termination,” the familiar person said. with politics.

Raytheon has 181,000 employees worldwide, but only U.S. employees are subject to the policy.

U.S. President Joe Biden met Wednesday with U.S. CEOs and other business leaders as he urges companies to demand inoculation of workers against COVID-19 amid an increase in unvaccinated infections. Read more

Last week, Biden announced vaccine warrants for almost all federal employees, federal contractors and larger companies, as the number of infections in the United States continued to rise, hospital beds in some parts of the country filled. and mask requirements returned.

Reports from Mike Stone to Washington; Edited by Aurora Ellis

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