New Delhi: Apple According to a memo sent to employees on Thursday, Inc. is delaying its return to corporate offices from October to January due to a rise in Covid-19 cases and new variants.
The company told employees it would confirm the reopening deadline one month before requiring employees to return to the office.
Apple previously aimed to require all employees to return to corporate offices in early September before delaying it until October.
When employees need to return, they will be expected to work in the office at least three days a week – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – with remote work available on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The memo sent out by human resources and retail chief Deirdre O’Brien said the company does not currently expect to close its offices or retail stores. But he strongly encouraged employees to get vaccinated.
The company does not yet require vaccinations or tests, although it is expanding its testing program to three at-home coronavirus tests per week. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the memo.
The iPhone maker in July became one of the first US tech giants to delay plans to return to normalcy as Covid-19 and highly permeable variants began to spread during the summer.
Now, the rise of the Delta variant around the world is forcing reconsideration among America’s biggest corporations, even as infection rates are still about a quarter of what they were at their peak.
After dropping its mask requirement in June, Apple reinstated the policy last month. The company also scrapped plans to resume in-store classes less than a day later.
Earlier on Thursday, Apple closed a retail store in South Carolina after more than 20 employees either tested positive or were exposed to COVID-19.
The company has also reduced working hours at some retail locations, in part, due to staff missing due to the virus.
After Lyft Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc, Apple is the latest corporation to delay its return to office until 2022.
The return of January 2022 would mean that apple employee Since the start of the virus outbreak in the US in March 2020, it would have been almost two years without the need to enter corporate premises.
Apple recently launched a program to allow some retail employees to work from home by assisting people online. Its physical stores will play a key role in the coming months as the company launches new iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and Macs.
The company told employees it would confirm the reopening deadline one month before requiring employees to return to the office.
Apple previously aimed to require all employees to return to corporate offices in early September before delaying it until October.
When employees need to return, they will be expected to work in the office at least three days a week – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – with remote work available on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The memo sent out by human resources and retail chief Deirdre O’Brien said the company does not currently expect to close its offices or retail stores. But he strongly encouraged employees to get vaccinated.
The company does not yet require vaccinations or tests, although it is expanding its testing program to three at-home coronavirus tests per week. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the memo.
The iPhone maker in July became one of the first US tech giants to delay plans to return to normalcy as Covid-19 and highly permeable variants began to spread during the summer.
Now, the rise of the Delta variant around the world is forcing reconsideration among America’s biggest corporations, even as infection rates are still about a quarter of what they were at their peak.
After dropping its mask requirement in June, Apple reinstated the policy last month. The company also scrapped plans to resume in-store classes less than a day later.
Earlier on Thursday, Apple closed a retail store in South Carolina after more than 20 employees either tested positive or were exposed to COVID-19.
The company has also reduced working hours at some retail locations, in part, due to staff missing due to the virus.
After Lyft Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc, Apple is the latest corporation to delay its return to office until 2022.
The return of January 2022 would mean that apple employee Since the start of the virus outbreak in the US in March 2020, it would have been almost two years without the need to enter corporate premises.
Apple recently launched a program to allow some retail employees to work from home by assisting people online. Its physical stores will play a key role in the coming months as the company launches new iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and Macs.
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