Tim Cook has sent a memo to all Apple employees to address the coronavirus outbreak.
Obtained by Bloomberg, the memo says that the company’s “return to normal” has been slower than anticipated and that the company’s “paramount concern” remains with Apple employees, partners, customers, and suppliers who are affected in China and elsewhere.
The memo was designed to reassure employees that Apple is a strong and stable company, and that this temporary blimp won’t have a long-term effect on its supply chain or profitability.
In other Apple news, it was revealed that the company would not meet its revenue guidance for this quarter because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Apple was expected to hit between $63 billion and $67 billion in revenue, but this will no longer be possible.
Apple didn’t offer an updated range, suggesting that it was unsure of how much damage COVID-19 would do.
Read the full memo below
Team,
The response to COVID-19 has touched the lives of so many in the Apple family, and I want to thank everyone for their dedication, empathy, understanding, and care. Today, we more than doubled our donation to support the historic and global health response.
Our paramount concern is with the people who make up Apple’s community of employees, partners, customers, and suppliers in China. I also want to recognize the many people across our teams who have been working around the clock to manage Apple’s global COVID-19 response with diligence and thoughtfulness.
Corporate offices and contact centers have reopened across China, and our stores are starting to reopen, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated. This afternoon, I shared this update with our community of shareholders and investors to note that we do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter. Outside of China, customer demand across our product and service categories has been strong to date and in line with our expectations. Apple is fundamentally strong, and this disruption to our business is only temporary.
Our first priority – now and always – is the health and safety of our employees, supply chain partners, customers, and the communities in which we operate. Our profound gratitude is with those on the front lines of confronting this public health emergency.
Tim
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