14 DAY TRIAL // Apple wasn’t even going to reward those who endured the busy iPhone 4 debut, had it not been for an increasing number of complaints from various employees, which ultimately prompted the Mac maker to offer incentives, Softpedia has learned.
A source dealing exclusively with information about Apple’s retail stores now confirms that staffers are in line to receive no more than $110, in what it referrs to as "taxable" bonus money offered by Apple for the busy work hours put in by some of its retail staffers on June 24 (iPhone 4 launch day). According to ifoAppleStore, “The iPhone 4 debut was Apple’s most successful retail store product launch ever, and now the company is rewarding the employees who worked on the launch day for their efforts.” Because of severely constrained iPhone 4 supplies, the company wasn’t able to give free units to store employees, the report reveals.
“However, the company did allow employees to reserve an iPhone 4 in the days before the launch, and pay with their own money,” although the move didn’t prevent “grumbling among store employees,” it adds. Citing unnamed sources, ifoAppleStore reports: “Apple will hand out $150 bonuses to those who worked at least 12 hours on iPhone launch day, which could presumably be used to help pay for a new iPhone. Like all work bonuses, the money is considered taxable and, depending upon an employee’s tax exemptions, could amount to less than $110 on a paycheck,” the site explains.
In related news, Apple was able to confirm on June 28 that the company had sold roughly 1.7 million iPhone 4 units. The new device brings a number of key additions building over the success of its predecessors (iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS), among which Apple highlights FaceTime (a video chatting feature), the Retina Display, a 5 megapixel back camera with LED flash, as well as a front-facing (2 megapixel) camera for video calling, and a number of new features typical to the new iOS 4 (the phone’s underlying operating system), including Multitasking, Folders, iAd, and Game Center.