Apple closes reopened US shops as coronavirus cases surge again
Apple has asked its US retail staff to return to remote working as the company shuts some of its recently reopened shops owing to a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Deirdre O’Brien, the company’s senior vice president of retail and people, told affected employees that they would serve customers online or over the phone instead.
“If your store is closed, please sign up for Retail at Home. Please talk to your manager because we really need to make sure that we shift our teams to greet our customers remotely in this time,” she said in a video message, according to Bloomberg.
“We may need to be working remotely for some period of time.”
Because of an increase in the number of customers buying products online and looking for services remotely because of lockdowns and travel restrictions, there have been “significant wait times”, the company said.
This is not the experience that Apple wants to offer its customers, Ms O’Brien said.
“We really want to make sure that we are moving to where our customers are, to help them during this very challenging time.
“As you know, people are really dependent upon their devices, especially right now,” she added.
Apple closed all shops outside Greater China in March as the pandemic spread around the world.
It began reopening more than 100 shops in the third week of May, responding to the gradual easing of restrictions in many countries.
However, in the past couple of weeks, Apple has again closed more than 90 outlets – about 35 per cent of the total US shop count – owing to the increase in coronavirus cases.
“The way we have been managing the protocols has been really effective,” said Ms O’Brien.
In a memo last month, the company said it does not expect its US office staff to return to work by the end of this year. However, it does expect its workforces in Europe and Asia to begin making a gradual comeback in the coming months.
As of yesterday, the US had registered more than 25 per cent of total Covid-19 cases globally, with more than 3.36 million cases out of a worldwide total of 13.1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the spread of the virus.
Apple, which reopened its three retail shops in the UAE on June 8 as authorities eased movement restrictions, is also shipping Covid-19 test kits to employees’ homes.
The company also said that it is allocating more than $400 million (Dh1.5 billion) towards projects for cheaper housing in California this year.
This is part of the company’s multi-year $2.5bn commitment that was announced last November to help address the state’s extended housing crisis.
The funding will provide thousands of Californians with first-time homebuyer assistance or new and cheaper housing units.
“Cities and states have been forced to pause many of their long-term affordable housing investments amid the current public health crisis,said Kristina Raspe, the company’s vice president for global real estate and facilities.
“Apple is proud to continue moving forward with our comprehensive plan to combat the housing crisis in California.”
We need to make sure we shift our teams to greet our customers. We may need to work remotely for some period of time DEIRDRE O’BRIEN Senior VP, retail and people