Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that Apple has set an April 11 deadline for corporate U.S. employees to return to their offices.
Apple has plans for a hybrid at-home/in-office schedule going forward. Apple will require employees to initially work from the office at least one day per week, increasing to at least two days per week by May 2, and at least three days per week by May 23. Those three days would be Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Most employees will have the option to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“For many of you, I know that returning to the office represents a long-awaited milestone and a positive sign that we can engage more fully with the colleagues who play such an important role in our lives,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg. “For others, it may also be an unsettling change.”
Apple has planned to see employees return to the office in February, but rising COVID-19 levels and a bit of push nack from employees delayed that. Now that cases are once again on the decline, Apple is once again taking a stab at a return for employees.
Apple has always stated that employees will eventually need to return to the office, although most have worked from home since the pandemic.
“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,” Cook said in a June 2021 memo to employees. “Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”
Apple joins other tech firms who have announced the return to the office, as Google announced earlier this week that its employees will make a return to offices on April 4.