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Apple Inc. revealed its remote work plans this week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that employees would not return to office work until 2021, joining other big tech companies’ plans for a future of working from home.
“We have kicked off the period of time that American employees would return until early next year. To go beyond that, it would depend on success with a vaccine, success with therapeutics, “Cook told Bloomberg TV.
Neighboring tech giant Google told workers last week that they can work from home until July 2021, and Facebook is also significantly increasing remote work.
Of all the big tech companies, Twitter has taken the most progressive remote working stance, with CEO Jack Dorsey telling employees they can continue to work remotely permanently.
Cook compared Apple’s process to reopen its offices to an “accordion,” in which the company would open offices and then close them again as needed, according to pandemic data. He said this is the same approach they are taking to open and close their retail stores. Fourteen Apple stores in the US closed again last week after regional waves of viral infections.
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Andrew Chamings is editor of SFGATE. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @AndrewChamings
