Raytheon to require vaccination for its U.S. workers by Jan. 1

Raytheon Technologies Corp. requires that its approximately 130,000 employees in the US be fully vaccinated by January 1, the company said on Wednesday.

The aerospace and defense giant intends to require the gunshots as a condition of employment, with a few exceptions for those with medical conditions or sincere religious beliefs. In a statement, Raytheon said the decision was made “to continue protecting employees and communities from the risks and uncertainties of Covid-19 and its variants.”

Raytheon employs several thousand workers in North Texas and has offices in Plano, McKinney, Richardson and Dallas.

The decision makes the Waltham, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of rockets, jet engines and equipment for commercial aircraft one of the first major contractors in the industry to impose vaccination requirements. It comes because the rapidly spreading Delta variant has sparked a surge in cases and other large companies like Delta Air Lines Inc., Microsoft Corp. and caused Facebook Inc. to demand shots or to face fines.

Raytheon’s announcement comes about a week after President Joe Biden said the Department of Labor would develop an occupational safety rule requiring companies with 100 or more employees to either mandate vaccinations or offer weekly testing.

Ryan Beene, Bloomberg

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