Don’t expect your local Apple Store to fully reopen any time soon

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While many businesses are testing the waters of reopening, Apple seems to be going the other way, according to new reports from Bloomberg.

In a video that was sent to multiple Apple employees, Apple’s senior vice president of retail, Deirdre O’Brien, is shown telling employees that are currently not working in-store to consider signing up for “Retail at Home,” which would have many of them pivot to continue to serve customers via live chat and over the phone.

O’Brien also notes that these positions are very needed, as wait times for customers have been exceedingly long, noting “people are really dependent upon their devices, especially right now.”

Earlier this year, Apple had started the process of opening back up some of its retail locations. According to the report from Bloomberg, Apple is again shutting down some of the stores that had previously opened. They note that over 90 of Apple’s 271 stores have been closed at this time.

Office employees are also being told not to expect to fully return to the office any time soon. While some employees may be able to work from the office in very small numbers, this is limited to those who have to work on-site, like hardware developers.

What do you think? Surprised that Apple is asking its retail employees to consider pivoting to at-home customer service roles? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.