Apple Altruism
One of the more visible responders to the COVID-19 pandemic has been Apple (AAPL), who has made public much of its communication with employees about its plans for remote worker mandates and store closings. In early March of 2020 Apple closed its stores in China due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, which were to remain closed until March 27. While they reopened those stores in March, they closed 450 stores in 21 other countries at the same time as the virus spread globally, with the expectation that those stores would reopen before the end of the month. The stores in various countries have faced local closings on occasion as infection rates forced restrictions however the company had reopened all of its 516 stores globally by June of this year, being the first time in just under a year and a half that all of its stores were open. It seems that Apple has decided to once again close a few stores in the US and Canada to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, after mandating the use of masks for all stores in the Apple system last week.
Apple has faced similar challenges concerning its office workers as far back as February 2020, when it reduced guidance due to a slower than expected return of Chinese workers to factories in the Apple supply chain and reduced demand overall in China., and in a March 13, 2020 statement indicated that “In all of our offices, we are moving to flexible work arrangements worldwide outside of Greater China. That means team members should work remotely if their job allows, and those whose work requires them to be on site should follow guidance to maximize interpersonal space,” with management indicated that all hourly workers will continue to be paid on a business-as-usual basis, and expanding sick leave, mandatory quarantining, or childcare policies going forward.
In August the company notified employees that any return to offices for Apple staff employees, which had been tentatively scheduled for September and then pushed to October, would be postponed until January 2022 due to the Delta variant, with employees given a month notice before being required to return, although only for an initial 3 days/week. However yesterday, Tim Cook e-mailed staff, indefinitely delaying that return date and giving all employees, including retail workers, $1,000 that can be used for “work-at-home needs”. Aside from their donations and direct help during the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has been quite willing to take whatever action necessary to protect its workers from the COVID-19 pandemic, not something we can say about some in the CE universe. Altruism is a very rare commodity in the CE space and should be recognized when it occurs.
Apple has faced similar challenges concerning its office workers as far back as February 2020, when it reduced guidance due to a slower than expected return of Chinese workers to factories in the Apple supply chain and reduced demand overall in China., and in a March 13, 2020 statement indicated that “In all of our offices, we are moving to flexible work arrangements worldwide outside of Greater China. That means team members should work remotely if their job allows, and those whose work requires them to be on site should follow guidance to maximize interpersonal space,” with management indicated that all hourly workers will continue to be paid on a business-as-usual basis, and expanding sick leave, mandatory quarantining, or childcare policies going forward.
In August the company notified employees that any return to offices for Apple staff employees, which had been tentatively scheduled for September and then pushed to October, would be postponed until January 2022 due to the Delta variant, with employees given a month notice before being required to return, although only for an initial 3 days/week. However yesterday, Tim Cook e-mailed staff, indefinitely delaying that return date and giving all employees, including retail workers, $1,000 that can be used for “work-at-home needs”. Aside from their donations and direct help during the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has been quite willing to take whatever action necessary to protect its workers from the COVID-19 pandemic, not something we can say about some in the CE universe. Altruism is a very rare commodity in the CE space and should be recognized when it occurs.
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