Apple employees across the US are being offered more than $100,000 to help them improve their personal lives, according to the New York Times.
Apple is offering a salary boost to all Apple employees, with the aim of improving their mental health, according the Times.
This is a huge step in Apple’s effort to combat depression, anxiety and other mental health issues in the US, according CEO Tim Cook, who has spoken out against bullying and workplace discrimination in the past.
“This is going to help us take a step forward and not only do we see the impact this has on Apple employees and employees across our whole company, but also on our employees who are impacted by the mental health of our employees,” Cook told CNBC.
The Times notes that the salary increase is only for Apple employees who have worked there for at least two years.
It is not available to the public, nor is it available for employees who worked at other Apple locations.
Apple has already received a $12.6 billion payout from the federal government in its landmark settlement with the US government over its use of illegal data mining and other violations of the US Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
The US government has been investigating the company for years over alleged surveillance of US citizens, including data mining that revealed emails and phone calls of Americans without their knowledge.
Apple has also been hit with multiple civil rights lawsuits from people in the United States who claim they were subjected to forced labour and racial profiling.
The Times also reports that the new salary boost is just one part of the company’s $1.3 trillion plan to improve the health of its employees.