Apple delays office return until 2022 as delta variant surges

Tech giant Apple will delay the planned return of its employees to its offices until January 2022 at the earliest, the Washington Post has confirmed.

The iPhone maker was due to welcome staff back into offices this fall before delaying the move to next year due to concerns over rising coronavirus cases and the delta variant, Bloomberg News reported.

It’s the latest move that could signal a more complex return-to-work plan for major U.S. companies.

Tech giants were some of the first companies to send workers home at the start of the pandemic in early March 2020, and they remain divided on how and when to bring back employees.

Unlike Google and Facebook, Apple does not yet have a coronavirus vaccine mandate in place for its staff. Amazon and Facebook are also delaying plans to return staff to offices to early 2022.

Apple is set to give a minimum of one month’s notice ahead of any future return date for its staff.

Apple stores also remain open in many countries, with masking and social distancing requirements in place depending on local health regulations.

In many ways the pandemic has been a boon to large technology companies, as consumers stuck at home have accelerated demand for digital services and consumer electronics to help them stay connected, employed and entertained during lockdowns.

In July, Apple and Google reported soaring earnings, delighting Wall Street.

But the good financial news was tempered by the surging delta variant spreading across the globe and threatening to prolong the ripple effects of the pandemic.

“Progress made is not progress guaranteed,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call with analysts in July. “An uneven recovery to the pandemic and the delta variant surging in many countries around the world have shown us once again that the road to recovery will be a winding one.”