applesDeirdre O'Brien (Deirdre O'Brien), the company's vice president of human resources and retail, said in a memo to employees on Thursday that due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and the spread of the Delta variant virus, the company will postpone the return of employees to the office from October to January next year at the earliest.
Apple said it will confirm the reopening schedule one month before employees are asked to return to the office. The company had previously planned for all employees to return to the office in early September, but it was delayed until October, and is now being postponed again.
When employees are asked to return to work, they have to work in the office at least three days a week — Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and can work remotely on Wednesday and Friday.
O'Brien added in the memo that the company currently has no plans to close its offices or retail stores. But she strongly encouraged employees to get vaccinated. Apple currently doesn't require employees to be vaccinated or tested, but is upgrading its testing program to at-home testing three times a week.