Topline
Apple has delayed the mandatory return date to its offices to at least next year. It will give employees a month notice before any return. This makes Apple the latest major company that delays back-of-office plans in light of rising coronavirus infection rates across the country.
An Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal is where a man checks his iPhone. This was January 29, 2019, in New York City. Getty Images
The Key Facts
Apple has delayed its mandatory office return to January 2022 (its stores will still remain open), according a memo to employees. This extends the previously extended deadline, which would have seen workers returning to the office in October. This is not the first company to postpone its return date to the office. Microsoft announced earlier this month that it would delay opening its offices until Oct. 4, and Microsoft did the same in September. The company announced that Amazon corporate staff would not be returning to the office until Jan. 3, four months after it had stated its intention to have employees back in September. This announcement comes just two months short of the two-year anniversary when many white-collar workers were sent home by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Seattle Times, the policy is applicable to all office staff worldwide, as well as the 60,000 employees in Seattle. After initially telling employees that they should plan to return to the office by September, Google announced it would extend its voluntary work from home period to Oct. 18. Uber delayed its return to the office in October to September. Lyft employees won't be returning to work until February 2021.
Important Background
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. reports around 133,000 new coronavirus cases per day after months of declining incidences. This is based on a rolling average of seven days. The delta variant of Covid-19 is the most contagious coronavirus mutation currently circulating in the United States. Microsoft, Facebook, and Google announced that they will require all employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before they resume in-person work at their offices.
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Microsoft is the latest major company to require workers to get vaccinated in the midst of the Covid Surge. (Forbes)
U.S. Reports Almost 200,000 Covid Cases in Worst Spike since January (Forbes).
Former FDA Head Claims That Delta will Infect "Majority" Of Unvaccinated Americans (Forbes).
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