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Apple (AAPL) delays return to office plan for workers, blames COVID resurgence

Apple cites Covid-19 as the reason behind its delay to a mandatory return to office.

Donovan Erskine

May 18, 2022 10:35 AM

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Apple, like many of the world’s largest companies, has been kicking around ways that it could get its employees back into physical offices. Two years into the pandemic, we’ve seen several companies adopt a hybrid format, and Apple was looking to soon join them. However, new reports reveal that Apple has delayed its employees’ return to in-person offices, with the company citing Covid-19 as the primary reason.

Apple informed employees this week that it would be delaying the mandatory return to working in offices, as discovered by Bloomberg. Allowing fully remote work throughout the pandemic, Apple employees were originally set to return to the office on May 23 in a hybrid system that would see them working in-person three days a week. Now, that shift has been pushed to an unspecified date.

With companies looking to bring workers back to in-person offices, a rise in Covid-19 cases has folks concerned about whether or not that’s actually a good idea. This is precisely the issue on Apple’s mind, as it names Covid as the reason for the delay. Apple also announced that it will be reinstating the requirement of masks in and around its Silicon Valley offices, as well as in Apple Stores. Apple had originally dropped the manded back in March.

Interestingly enough, Apple workers have been fairly vocal against the idea of being forced to return to in-person offices. It was the subject of an open letter that was published back in April of this year. However, Apple doesn’t seem to reference the letter from employees in its decision to delay the return to in-person work.

With Apple delaying its employees’ required return to working in-person, we’ll be waiting to see if the company announces a new date. In the meantime, you can count on Shacknews for the latest Apple news.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_