Bloomberg reports that Apple will give retail employees up to $1000 in one-time bonuses in October. The rare move is taken to appreciate the hard work retail teams put in during the COVID-19 pandemic when Apple Stores shut down and re-opened several times.
Reportedly, the payout will also put the company’s retail operations on track for the launch of new products: iPhone 13 series, Apple Watch Series 7, iPad mini 6, iPad 9, and other devices which are expected to launch later this year, before the Holiday season.
For the first time, Apple will pay the store, AppleCare, and online sales workers cash bonuses
As per the report, employees’ bonus amount will be based on their duration at the company. People who have asked not the identified told the publishers that;
The iPhone maker will give $1,000 to retail staff hired before March 31, while anyone who joined after that date will receive $500, according to people familiar with the situation. New workers for the holiday shopping season will get $200. The payouts also will go to AppleCare and online sales workers as well.
The October bonuses will be the first cash payouts by the company; in 2018 employees’ bonuses were paid in stocks. According to the people familiar with the matter, the bonuses are given to appease the employees’ concerns of pay inequity.
The bonuses will be an unusual perk since Apple rarely gives companywide payouts. The last major one was $2,500 worth of restricted stock units in 2018. That bonus followed tax changes allowing Apple to bring back cash from offshore accounts at a lower cost. The new bonuses will be issued via cash in paychecks, rather than as stock units, the people said.
With this news, another internal decision is leaked to the press. Recently, the company’s CEO Tim Cook expressed his frustration with employees leaking confidential information and said that those black sheep will be identified and rooted out. We are assuming Mr.Cook needs to do more than just sent a memo to stop leaks.
As you know, we do not tolerate disclosures of confidential information, whether it’s product IP or the details of a confidential meeting. We know that the leakers constitute a small number of people. We also know that people who leak confidential information do not belong here.
