Apple delays return to corporate offices until 2022 as Covid cases rise

Apple has told its global workforce they will not return to its corporate offices until January at the earliest, over concerns about a rise in Covid-19 cases driven by the spread of the Delta variant.

The iPhone maker, which will still keep its network of retail stores open, had previously told staff there would be a phased return to work from October. The delayed office return applies to its international workforce, including those based in the UK.

The company told staff in a memo that it would confirm the reopening plans one month before employees were required to return to the office, according to Bloomberg News.

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The memo, sent by the human resources and retail head, Deirdre O’Brien, added that the company did not currently expect to close its offices or retail stores, but she strongly encouraged staff to get vaccinated.

“I know there are feelings of frustration that the pandemic is not yet behind us,” she wrote. “For many colleagues around the world this period has been a time of great tragedy, suffering and heartbreak. Please know that we are all here to support one another and stand with one another during such challenging times.”

Apple, which last month reinstated the mask-wearing policy for in-store staff that it had only decided to scrap in June, had previously planned to ask staff to return to its offices on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays by early September, before delaying that to October. Employees would be able to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Well duh.

Masks are required for customers at our local Apple store.

I witnessed by first ever anti-masker. The anger in these people! She was in the store, standing right by the mask box and wanted to see a specialist. Employee told her that she needed to have a mask on. First, she told the employee that he couldn't make her. The employee reiterates that she still needs to have a mask on in order to be in the store. Then she says she just has a question. Fine, he says, then you need to step outside in the mall, and a specialist will talk to her distanced. So she actually did step outside, but then angrily described her issue. I sort of stopped following the conversation then, as a specialist and I engaged in my issue. I did overhear something about her yelling that Apple is crap and doesn't stand by it's products after the specialist told her her issue couldn't be handled at the store level, but that she needed to call Apple.

Argh!

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