Apple workers push back against return to office plan

Apple will reportedly require corporate employees to return to the office 3 days per week starting in September

A group of Apple employees is pushing back against the tech giant's return to the office plans with a new petition. 

Known as Apple Together, the group of workers argues that the company's formerly office-based staff have performed "exceptional work, flexibly, both outside and inside traditional office environments" over the past two years and that the "uniform mandate from senior leadership does not consider the unique demands of each job role nor the diversity of individuals." 

"We believe that Apple should encourage, not prohibit, flexible work to build a more diverse and successful company where we can feel comfortable to ‘think different’ together," the petition states. 

Last week, Apple reportedly informed corporate staff that they would be required to return to the office three times per week starting the week of Sept. 5. The employees will be required to work in person on Tuesday, Thursday and a third day that will vary based on each individual team, according to Bloomberg. 

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Apple Together, which previously claimed that the return to office policy would make Apple's workforce "younger, whiter, [and] more male-dominated," is demanding that the company's leadership allow each employee to work directly with their manager to figure out the best possible flexible work arrangement.

"These work arrangements should not require higher level approvals, complex procedures, or providing private information," the workers said. 

According to Apple Together, the company has more than 100,000 direct employees in the U.S., including retail workers. 

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Apple's return to office announcement follows a series of delays due to the emergence of new COVID-19 variants that each spurred a flare-up in cases. 

It also comes after a group of Apple retail workers in Maryland voted in June to become the company's first unionized location.  

An Apple spokesperson did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment on the petition.