“We’ve kicked the time period that U.S. employees would come back until early next year. To go beyond that, it would depend on the success with a vaccine, success with therapeutics,” Cook told Bloomberg TV.
Neighboring tech giant Google told workers last week they can work from home until July 2021, and Facebook is also significantly increasing remote work.
Of all the large tech companies, Twitter has taken the most progressive remote work stance, with CEO Jack Dorsey telling employees they can keep working remotely permanently.
Cook compared Apple’s process for re-opening its offices to an "accordion," wherein the company would open offices and then re-close them as necessary depending on pandemic data. He said this is the same approach they are taking toward the opening and closing of their retail stores. Fourteen Apple stores in the U.S. closed again last week after regional surges in viral infections.