AppleLand
On 12/16/21 we noted that Apple (AAPL) had 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, which was then postponed indefinitely. At various times Apple has closed its stores in a number of global locations in response tp the spread of COVID-19, particularly the Delta variant, with all stores finally being reopened in June of this year, for the first time in just under a year and a half.
As we mentioned in our recent note, Apple has begun to close a number of stores in the US and Canada and the Omicron variant spreads, and yesterday announced the closing of all of its stores in New York City, as new cases surged. Apple has a number of flagship stores in NYC, with the largest being the 5th Avenue store between 58th and 59th, at one time being the only Apple store open 24 hours a day. All stores are still open to outside product pickup, but only Apple employees are allowed inside.
While we certainly give Apple credit for being proactive concerning the safety of customers during the pandemic, all is not perfect in Appleland, with a strike and walkout staged by Apple employees on Christmas Eve, albeit one not endorsed by any Apple trade unions. The walkout was the result of a customer incident in Jacksonville, Florida where a customer spit on an Apple employee, and was later allowed to return to the store, with the employee allegedly being told that ‘the customer did nothing wrong’. Of course, once such was posted on Twitter, reports of other incidents, abusive store managers, and other employee issues soon followed. While we doubt much changed as a result of the strike, which was said to encompass some 50 workers, a wise old man once said, “It’s a sewer out there”, and now it seems to also be a sewer in there.
As we mentioned in our recent note, Apple has begun to close a number of stores in the US and Canada and the Omicron variant spreads, and yesterday announced the closing of all of its stores in New York City, as new cases surged. Apple has a number of flagship stores in NYC, with the largest being the 5th Avenue store between 58th and 59th, at one time being the only Apple store open 24 hours a day. All stores are still open to outside product pickup, but only Apple employees are allowed inside.
While we certainly give Apple credit for being proactive concerning the safety of customers during the pandemic, all is not perfect in Appleland, with a strike and walkout staged by Apple employees on Christmas Eve, albeit one not endorsed by any Apple trade unions. The walkout was the result of a customer incident in Jacksonville, Florida where a customer spit on an Apple employee, and was later allowed to return to the store, with the employee allegedly being told that ‘the customer did nothing wrong’. Of course, once such was posted on Twitter, reports of other incidents, abusive store managers, and other employee issues soon followed. While we doubt much changed as a result of the strike, which was said to encompass some 50 workers, a wise old man once said, “It’s a sewer out there”, and now it seems to also be a sewer in there.
Apple on 5th Store - Source: Apple
Apple Worker Strike requests - Source: Twitter
COVID-19 - New York City New Cases - Source: NY Times
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