Apple CEO Tim Cook today informed staff that it is “likely” the majority of teams won’t be back in offices until June of 2021 at the earliest. This comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen in many parts of the world.
As first reported by Bloomberg, Cook’s comments came during a virtual town hall with employees earlier today. The Apple CEO said that while there is no replacement for face-to-face collaboration, there’s a lot to be learned from working remotely this year:
But with all of that having been said, Cook said it “seems likely” that the majority of Apple teams won’t be back in the office before June of 2021. This means that the majority of teams at Apple will continue working remotely, at least through then. During a recent interview, Cook noted that Apple Park is currently at around 15% capacity.
“There’s no replacement for face-to-face collaboration, but we have also learned a great deal about how we can get our work done outside of the office without sacrificing productivity or results,” he told staff, according to people familiar with the comments. “All of these learnings are important. When we’re on the other side of this pandemic, we will preserve everything that is great about Apple while incorporating the best of our transformations this year.”
Bloomberg reports:
Cook also told employees during today’s town hall that, because of the “challenges over the past several months,” they will be getting an additional paid holiday on January 4.
Cook said it “seems likely” that the majority of teams won’t be back before June 2021. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has historically had an office-centric culture, but the CEO implied that the company’s success this year during the pandemic lockdown could enable more flexibility to work remotely in the future.
