These are the changes Apple Park is making as employees return from lockdown

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Apple Park is starting to get back to normal.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Just as it has with reopening Apple Stores, Apple is putting protective measures in place to keep employees safe as they return to Apple Park after lockdown.

These measures include optional COVID-19 swab testing, temperature checks, closed kitchens, social distancing measures, and an insistence on face masks.

Employees began returning to Apple Park from lockdown in May. Many had been working remotely since early March when Tim Cook urged Apple employees to “please feel free to work remotely if your job allows” this.

The newly implemented safety measures were shared by Bloomberg in an article published Thursday. The report notes that, as Apple Park reopens after lockdown, some employees are working there for only a few days per week. This reduces the number of people in Apple Park at any one time. The HQ, which first opened to Apple employees in April 2017, can house more than 12,000 people in total.

For social distancing purposes, Apple is now limiting the number of people allowed in certain areas. Apple has closed certain break-out rooms. It also urges employees to wear masks. Bloomberg notes that only two people are allowed in elevators at the same time. Normally, they would accommodate up to 10 employees.

Different tech companies are responding to the coronavirus pandemic in different ways. Twitter, for instance, has said that people can work from home. Facebook is also reportedly “aggressively” hiring remote workers. It says that eventually half its staff could be remote workers. Bloomberg notes that Apple has a different stance, however. Journalist Mark Gurman writes that: “Apple has long prioritized in-person meetings and hands-on product development, and its central business is hardware, which is less conducive to off-site work.”

 

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