“Due to coronavirus concerns” is a common thread these days, and it strikes yet again as it relates to Apple employees returning to work in the United States.
If you’ll recall, Apple had deemed it okay for some essential workers in the United States to return to work at Apple Park earlier this year. That move started on June 15. However, as July wraps up, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage much of the U.S., and, as a result, many companies have had to rework their plans to bring employees back into the fold and stop work-from-home options.
However, it turns out Apple is shifting its goalposts in this regard as well. In an interview with Emily Chang of Bloomberg, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has confirmed that most Apple employees in the United States won’t be returning to work until sometime in early 2021. This is a similar move to other major companies at this point, so it’s not at all surprising to see Apple doing the same.
Here’s the tweet on the matter, sent out by Mark Gurman on Thursday afternoon:
Apple CEO Tim Cook tells @EmilyChangTV in interview that Apple has “kicked” U.S. employee return to offices until early 2021, lining up with our previous reporting.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 30, 2020
With this being the case, it means that most of the Apple employees who are already working from home will continue to do so, and that will be the “new normal” until early next year.
Apple’s plans were to slowly bring employees back to offices throughout the summer and fall, but the company has always said that plans could change, and that it would always look at current trends and numbers before making any final decisions.
Earlier today, Apple announced its latest quarterly earnings report, revealing that it had earned almost $60 billion in revenue in its third fiscal quarter.