Technology giant Apple has told employees they must return to work next month for at least three days a week to preserve the "in-person collaboration so essential to our culture".

Some 6,000 people work for Apple across Ireland and the company has had a base in Cork for 42 years.

In a memo to its workers on Monday, chief executive Tim Cook said all employees at the company's headquarters and nearby offices would be required to come in on Tuesday and Thursday, as well as one other day determined by team leaders.

The move will begin on September 5 and Apple employees from different parts of the world will return on different timetables depending on local circumstances.

However, Silicon Valley groups have faced pressure from many staff to preserve remote working conditions, or risk losing crucial talent.

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Following a previous announcement of a return-to-office plan, Ian Goodfellow, a director of machine learning, left the company reportedly saying he was against the policy.

In June 2021, Apple announced a similar return-to-office order with a planned three-day week but had to withdraw because of rising Covid-19 cases.

Mr Cook emphasised that the recent arrangements were a "pilot" and would be adjusted as necessary.

In May of this year, Apple announced the expansion of its offices on its Cork campus with plans to hire up to 1,300 staff.

In the same month, the Remote Working in Ireland survey revealed 30% of respondents said they would change their jobs if their remote working preferences were not facilitated.

NUI Galway researchers and the Western Development Commission found 92% of respondents were working remotely some or all of the time, while 53% wanted to work remotely all of the time going forward.

In his memo, Mr Cook said: "We believe this revised framework will enhance our flexibility while preserving the in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture." Mark Zuckerberg has previously told his team at Meta, formerly Facebook, that remote working was encouraged.

Amazon told its employees in October it would not put in place any mandatory day requirements but did stipulate that employees must be able to get to their office within a day's notice. Travel site Airbnb, based in San Francisco, told staff in April they were free to work from anywhere in the country and, for 90 days a year, from any of 170 countries around the world.