COVID-19 has been on the rise again in the US recently, and Apple has responded by, among other things, re-closing many of the stores that had opened after the first shutdown.
Bloomberg now reports that the company’s hopes of being able to start working fully from Apple Park and its other US offices before the turn of the year are fading.
Apple now expects that most of its staff will continue to work from home for the rest of the year and at least some time into 2021. The company also encourages employees whose stores have closed to talk to their managers and sign up for “Retail at home”, the company’s commitment to put store staff to work from home in various ways.
This is a disappointment, since Apple had been preparing for employees to return to work as early a mid-May. However, it’s worth pointing out that only a small percentage of Apple’s staff work in offices. This change of plans will affect, for example, hardware developers and people who have to work under extra-high confidentiality in secure departments.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by David Price.