Unilever asks employees to work from home amid coronavirus concerns

Unilever said on Friday it had instructed all office-based employees globally to work from home starting Tuesday, as the London-based consumer goods company laid out measures to stem the spread of coronavirus within the group.

"These are unprecedented times," Chief Executive Officer Alan Jope said, as the world grapples with a disease that has infected almost 135,000 people and claimed more than 4,900 lives.

Unilever followed in the footsteps of Google parent Alphabet, Amazon.com, Facebook and Microsoft - all of whom announced similar measures earlier this month.