Apple extends the shutdown of its U.S stores until early May

Apple had announced a two-week shutdown of its worldwide stores except in China in March. As Coronavirus continues to spread quickly across the United States with over 245,000 people infected so far and more than 6,000 deaths, Apple Inc. announced on Thursday that it is extending the shutdown of its U.S stores for a whole month. The stores will now remain closed until the start of May as the U.S tech giant directed its employees that the work-from-home arrangements will remain in place during this time.

Apple’s
senior vice president (retail and people), Deirdre O’Brien highlighted in a
memo sent to the company’s employees that, “Apple anticipated that flexible
work arrangements will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores
will remain closed, until early May.”

Apple
Will Reopen Stores Based On Local Government’s Guidance

She
further added that Apple is working committedly to get a thorough daily update
of the pandemic situation at all of its worldwide locations. The iPhone maker wishes
to make its decision regarding resuming operations based on its meticulous
evaluation and the latest guidance laid out by the regional public health
professionals and the local governments at large.  

The
memo also acknowledged that plenty of Apple’s employees especially parents are
struggling to find the balance between their work and personal lives which
include crucial matters like homeschooling for their children. The company
encouraged its workers to communicate their challenges with the management that
is committed to offering support and arranging flexible schedules for such employees.

In
her previous statement, O’Brien had informed Apple’s employees that a few of
the stores located outside of the United States may resume operations in the
first two weeks of April. Thursday’s memo further added that the executive team
at Apple is holding regular meetings and is in continuous contact with its worldwide
teams for daily updates.

Apple
Has A Total Of 270 Stores In The U.S

Headquartered
in California, Apple currently has 458 stores located outside of mainland China,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Out of these, 270 stores are located in the United
States all
of which were temporarily closed as the government continued to restrict
people to their homes to minimize the fast transmission of the flu-like virus.

Apple’s
stock gained more than 1% in premarket trading on Friday. At £199 per share,
the stock is still trading a little under 20% down year to date. At the time of
writing, Apple has a market cap of £870 billion ($1.07 trillion).