Apple threatens to fire employees who do not work from office 3 days a week5 things to know

By Divyanshi SharmaThe tech job market is highly unstable right now with more and more companies announcing large-scale layoffs. While companies like Amazon, Google, Twitter and Meta have eliminated thousands of employees, Apple stands firm and has not announced any layoffs, yet. However, the company is taking strict action against employees who are not complying with its work policies, as per reports. Latest reports surfacing online suggest that Apple has asked its employees to return to work from offices for at least three days a week and those who aren’t doing so are getting some serious warnings.

Here are five things that you need to know about what’s happening at Apple and why the company is threatening to fire employees who aren’t ready to return to work from office at least three times a week.

1. Apple’s threat to employees

Platformer’s managing editor, Zoe Schiffer, wrote in a tweet earlier this week that Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees and will give them warnings if they don’t come to office at least three days in a week.

“Apple is tracking employee attendance (via badge records) and will give employees escalating warnings if they don’t come in 3x per week,” the tweet read. Schiffer further added that some offices within Apple are saying that if the employees don’t comply with the work policy, it could result in ‘termination’. However, this policy is not being adapted throughout the company.

“At Apple, some orgs are saying failure to comply could result in termination, but that doesn’t appear to be a company-wide policy,” Schiffer tweeted.

2. Bloomber’s recent report

According to a recent Bloomberg report, managers at Apple are ‘acting tough’ about attendance and employees are said to come to offices on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Several employees at the company are worried that if they can’t fulfill the set criteria, they might be fired. The report also said that Apple had completely stopped hiring for some roles and limited hiring people for others.

3. About the policy

In 2022, Apple announced that employees would be expected to work in the office at least three days a week starting in September. The policy was intended to encourage collaboration and boost creativity among employees.

4. The pushback from employees

A group of employees at Apple showed resistance against the company’s working from office plans and said that during the last two years, the employees had proved that they could work from home exceptionally well. The employee group was called Apple Together.

5. Tim Cook’s memo to employees

Apple CEO Tim Cook had sent a memo to employees in March last year, informing them about the company’s plans to adapt to a hybrid work model. The memo, as per a report by Business Insider, read, “For many of you, I know that returning to the office represents a long-awaited milestone and a positive sign that we can engage more fully with the colleagues who play such an important role in our lives,”

“For others, it may also be an unsettling change. I want you to know that we are deeply committed to giving you the support and flexibility that you need in this next phase,” the memo read further.