Bloomberg News reported Thursday that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) wants to test a “Retail Flex” program for employees, citing people familiar with the situation.
What happened was this: Apple’s hybrid in-store and work-from-home program will be tested with a small number of store employees later this year, allowing them to work at their retail store location some weeks and remotely the rest of the time.
Beginning in September, Apple requested employees to work from home on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with office attendance on Wednesdays and Fridays being optional.
Also see: In the midst of employee protests over the return to work, Apple calls in-person collaboration “essential.”
According to the report, employees working from home will handle online sales, customer service, and technical assistance.
According to Bloomberg, the Cupertino, California-based tech giant plans to expand the program from September to December, when it plans to release several new iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and AirPods, and is asking employees in the pilot program to commit to participating for at least six months.
After being closed for several months due to pandemic-related closures, Apple reopened all of its U.S. stores in June.
Why It Matters: According to the report, the program acknowledges that, despite economic re-openings and vaccine availability in many parts of the world, online purchasing has benefited from COVID-19 and is here to stay.
According to the paper, retail personnel would manage their store and remote duties based on demand in shops versus online buying at a given period.
Price Changes: On Thursday, Apple shares closed 0.23 percent higher at $137.27.
Also see: Tim Cook’s call for a return to office in September is met with resistance from Apple employees: Report (C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not offer financial advice. All intellectual property rights are reserved./n
