Apple Suddenly Postpones Workers Returning to Office Until This Month

Tech giant Apple has reportedly postponed when employees would be returning to the office until October.

According to a Bloomberg report, the company will delay the return to office by at least a month as the highly transmissible Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreads nationwide.

It was in June that CEO Tim Cook had said that Apple employees would return to the office for three days a week starting in September. The employees would be given the option to work remotely up to two weeks said a Verge article.

Cook sent an e-mail that asked workers to return to the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

The move had caused backlash among employees and some said the plan had “forced some of our colleagues to quit,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge.

Fellow tech giant Microsoft had said it would allow its employees to work from home half the time while Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that full-time employees can work from home if their jobs can be done remotely. Twitter has also discussed permanent policies for remote work.

Apple’s June quarter earnings report is one week away.

The Wall Street consensus view is that the company will post revenue of $72.9 billion, up 22% from a year earlier, with profits of $1 a share.

In its March quarter results, Apple didn’t issue specific financial forecasts for the June quarter, but said it expects “strong double digit” revenue growth on a year-over-year basis.

UBS analyst David Vogt reiterated his buy rating on Apple stock on Tuesday and raised his 12-month price target to from $155 to $166.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.