Apple postpones return to office by a month as virus cases rise
Apple is reportedly delaying its office return by at least one month until October in response to the delta variant surge, becoming the first major Bay Area company to postpone as cases rise.
The Cupertino tech giant had planned to require employees to return for three days a week starting in September.
Bloomberg first reported the delay. “As the situation continues to evolve, we’re committed to the same measured approach that we have taken all along,” Apple said in an email to employees, the New York Times reported. Apple declined to comment. The company has taken a stricter approach in requiring inperson work compared to other tech firms, which have gone fully remote or allowed a significant portion of their workforce to stay remote.
Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a memo last month that employees would be expected in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with managers having the option to approve two additional weeks of remote work per
year.
“For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other,” he wrote. “Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”
That move drew employee push back, as some workers called for more flexibility, according to the Verge.
The majority of Bay Area counties are recommending that everyone wear masks indoors, including those who have been vaccinated. In Santa Clara County, where Apple is headquartered, new cases are up 89% in the past week to 429, according to a Chronicle analysis. Los Angeles County, where Apple also has offices, has mandated indoor masking.