Tim Cook encourages external work at Apple global offices due to corona virus

Tim Cook, the coronavirus outbreak, an “unprecedented event”, encourages Apple’s CEO at several of its global offices to “work freely if your job permits” from March 9 to 13, Bloomberg reports.

Cook sent a memo to employees who are extending the previous Apple provisions from home for some Apple employees in California and the Seattle area. He said in the memo that the company “makes a major effort to reduce human density” and the external work policy will apply to offices in “areas with the highest infection density”.

In addition to Seattle, the list includes Apple’s headquarters in the Santa Clara Valley and Elk Grove areas in California, as well as offices in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and the UK, according to Bloomberg.

Employees who work every hour in affected Apple offices around the world continue to “receive wages in line with normal business operations,” the memo said.

Last month, Apple temporarily closed all its stores in China due to the coronavirus outbreak (some have already been reopened), and the company limited employee travel to the most affected areas, including China, Italy, and South Korea.

Apple told investors in a note on 17 February that due to the impact of the corona virus, the company did not expect to meet its revenue expectations for the second quarter. It warned that “worldwide iPhone delivery will be temporarily limited.”