Apple has postponed the mandatory return to office until 2022 at the earliest.

In an internal memo sent by HR head Deirdre O'Brien and seen by Bloomberg, Apple said the decision was made because of rising COVID-19 cases. The company would confirm its plans to re-open one month before employees are required to return to the office, the memo says.

The memo also said that Apple doesn't currently plan to close any of its offices or retail stores, and urged employees to get vaccinated.

Apple was initially scheduled to reopen offices in September, but this was later delayed to October. Once employees start returning, they'll be expected to work Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from the office, and remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays, should they so choose. This model did not sit well some employees, who voiced their discontent in an internal letter this June.

Several other tech giants have already postponed return to office until 2022, including Facebook, Lyft and Amazon. Google still plans to have its workers come back to the office in October.