Apple Inc. delays plans to return to work for its U.S. corporate offices until early next year, as an increase in Covid-19 cases in the country continues to disrupt companies ’efforts to get them to employees return to their place.
Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s human resources leader, told employees in an email Thursday that the planned return would be delayed until at least January. The Cupertino, California-based company told staff in July that they should not return until at least October. O’Brien also urged employees to get vaccinated. Bloomberg News previously reported its message to staff.
In June, CEO Tim Cook told Apple office workers that they were expected to return to their jobs three days a week starting in September.
An increase in Covid-19 cases due to the Delta variant has caused many companies to rethink their plans to return employees to the office. Other large technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. they have delayed the return of their office until January.
Apple last year was one of the first U.S. companies to have workers stay home when the pandemic began. The company has repeatedly closed its retail stores amid virus outbreaks in certain areas. Apple gradually began opening its stores and reopened all U.S. retail offices in March.