Following a new surge in COVID-19 cases and continued employee protests over its announced plan to return many employees to the office three days a week starting in September, Apple is now delaying its plans until at least October, Bloomberg reports .
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The report suggests that Apple will continue to monitor the situation and will notify its employees at least a month before requiring workers to return to their offices.
The iPhone is becoming one of the first U.S. tech giants to delay plans to return to normal as Covid persists and cases involving its highly contagious mutation rise. Apple will give its employees at least a month's notice before ordering them back to the office, sources familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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After more than a year of working remotely, many employees not only at Apple but at many other companies have expressed interest in continuing their remote work, seeking increased flexibility and in some cases an escape from the high housing prices near many corporate offices in Silicon Valley and other areas.
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While some companies have adopted this practice, Apple has so far tried to take a hybrid approach, arguing that in-person collaboration is essential to the company's culture and future. So while Apple may have delayed its plans to return most of its employees to in-person work, it remains to be seen how things will play out in the long term.
