Apple sent an email to its employees informing them that they will be likely to return to the office in October, due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Apple delays return to offices
According to The Verge, Apple’s Tom Cook sent out the email, informing his workforce that they would only be able to return to the office in early September — coming to work only three times a week, with an option to work remotely too.
These changes weren’t received well by the employees because they were worried that their jobs were on the line, The Verge reported.
“For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other. Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate,” Cook said last month.
The company said that its employees would be given at least a month’s notice if there are any changes to the new date.
Headquarters hit by COVID-19 infections
California’s Santa Clara County, where the iPhone maker is headquartered, has seen cases and its test positivity rate quadruple since late June, The Deadline says.
In recent reports, new COVID-19 cases roared past 4 000, since February, which effectively means that California has a higher infection rate in the US.
“In two weeks, we can end this pandemic in the United States of America,” said Governor Gavin Newsom at a news conference on Monday.
They had also stopped announcing COVID-19 numbers on the weekends in the state, and had ended up issuing one big number on Monday, The Deadline said.