Bloomberg outlines Apple’s plan for employees to gradually return to corporate offices

Apple Park

Bloomberg yesterday shared a write-up detailing Apple’s plan for its employees to gradually return to corporate offices around the world over the course of a few months, including the main Apple Park campus in Silicon Valley, starting with hardware development engineers.

UPDATE: Well-connected Apple pundit John Gruber has learned from his sources that the Bloomberg report is not based on real facts. Writing on his Daring Fireball blog, he published a piece titled “Bloomberg Publishes Clickbait in Break From Rivals” which basically says that there’s no pressure for corporate staff to return to offices whatsoever. The original story continues right ahead…

This will be a two-stage process, according to people familiar with the matter, with the first phase already underway and extending into early June and the second phase starting in July. Employees whose work cannot be done remotely and those individuals who are faced with productivity issues are being handled in the first phase.

In the second phase, additional employees who are currently obeying stay-at-home orders will be gradually returning to work, and that includes engineers working on hardware development. Some Apple Store employees have been offered work-from-home support opportunities, too.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has the story:

This week, senior Apple managers are beginning to inform employees if they are in the first phase or a later part of the process. During the first phase, employees will either be asked to work from the office regularly or only for certain periods depending on their role.

Unlike Apple, other technology companies are continuing work-from-home policies through at least the end of 2020 due to COVID-19, said the report. Apple’s approach, Bloomberg has it, underscores its focus on in-person meetings and hands-on product development.