Tim Cook: Apple employees will continue to work from home

According to Bloomberg, Apple has delayed the mandatory requirement for its employees to return to the office. The reason is the latest spike in COVID-19 cases. Bloomberg cites an internal memo by none other than Tim Cook himself, postponing the potential returning to Apple’s offices “indefinitely.”

Apple employees were expected to return to hybrid home/office duties on February 1st, but the new date now remains to be determined. "We are delaying the start of our hybrid work pilot," Cook reportedly wrote in the memo, adding that the reason for this decision is the "rising cases in many parts of the world and the emergence of a new strain of the virus."

Furthermore, Cook advises employees to get vaccinated in order to “keep you and your community safe,” and it’s a much milder approach compared to what other tech giants are doing recently. Yesterday, Google threatened to fire employees who refuse to get vaccinated, heating the online vaccination debate even more.

This is the latest delay Apple is issuing - the company planned to get workers back in the offices in October, then delayed until January, and shortly afterward moved back the date to February 2022. The emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 strain has forced Apple to push back the returning to the offices for its workers “indefinitely.”

A couple of days ago, Apple also brought back mandatory masks for all stores across the US.

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