Apple's corporate employees will have to return to the office at least one day per week starting April 11. CEO Tim Cook sent a memo announcing the news on Friday, Bloomberg reported.
Apple plans to gradually increase the required office days as time goes on. Three weeks after April 11, employees will need to go in twice a week. On May 23, employees will need to be in-person Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Company leaders have tried and failed to bring employees back to the office multiple times since vaccines became more accessible last June. With the rise of the delta variant, the company pushed in-person work until October. In November, Apple pushed the date to Feb. 1. Its plans were once again foiled by the omicron variant. But with falling COVID-19 cases across the country, Apple is clearly more optimistic and is loosening up some restrictions. It recently dropped its mask mandate in most stores.
"As always, we will continue monitoring local conditions and are prepared to adjust our protocols as necessary for the health of our teams and communities," Cook wrote, according to Bloomberg.