As per a report by Macrumors, employees working in Apple Milton Keynes store have been told that their leave requests between September 15, 2023 and October 7, 2023 as well as December 2, 2023 and the start of January 2024 will not be authorised by store managers. The instruction appears to be a change of protocol in the region.
These instructions in “forbidding time off around a year in advance” are said to have been communicated via a memo issued on a local basis. The macrumors report says that Apple directly communicates the notice of not to take leaves immediately before the launch of new products and the holiday period to employees at a short notice via an internal Apple communications app.
Store managers were cited as saying that these instructions came from “above the store” level.
It seems that Apple wants to make sure that it is better equipped for next year during “high velocity moments.” Furthermore, it is not known whether it is just the store employees in the UK or those working at Apple Stores in other markets as well have been told to avoid taking time off during the anticipated heightened footfall in the holiday period.
Apple may launch iPhone 15 in mid-September
The instructions imply that Apple could launch the next iPhone models sometime in mid to second half of September. Of course it is impossible to fix a date for the launch of the next flagship handsets at this point of time because the next generation of smartphones will be first tested and then go into mass production.
The Cupertino-based technology giant usually unveils the new iPhones in mid-September. It was only this year that Apple had to prepone due to supply chain issues which were reported on extensively since the COVID-19 outbreak in China. The pandemic forced the manufacturers to shut factories for a few weeks and global chip shortage also impacted the manufacturing of phones.
