What you need to know
- Apple will begin to bring employees back into offices.
- The company will take a phased approach.
- The change will happen over the course of the next few months.
Most of Apple's employees have been working remotely for the past couple of months, but the company is planning on beginning to bring those people back into offices over the next few months. Reported by Bloomberg, the company plans to bring employees back into the office in phases, with the first phase focused on those who either can't work remotely or are having problems doing so.
"The Cupertino, California-based technology giant plans to bring back employees in phases to its offices, including the main Apple Park campus in Silicon Valley, over a few months, according to people familiar with the plan. The first phase, which includes staff members who can't work remotely or are facing challenges working from home, has already begun in some regions globally. It will expand to major offices across late May and early June, Apple has told staff."
The second phase, which is scheduled to start in July, will begin to return workers to offices in areas where the local and state orders allow for it. Those plans, however, "are fluid and may change".
"A second phase, scheduled to begin in July, will return even more employees to Apple's offices globally. In the U.S., the company has locations in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, San Diego and Boulder, Colorado. The return-to-work timelines are fluid and may change, particularly given local and state stay-at-home orders, said the people, who asked not to be identified talking about internal company matters."
Senior management at Apple has begun to inform employees which phase they are in. For those in the first phase, employees may be asked to work in the office regularly or be limited to certain time slots.
"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, the company has told staff. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment."
Apple has also begun to open its retail stores across the world in phases. Stores, like offices, are being opened for employees and customers to limited operations.
