Exactly The claims of "but they'll goof off" or "how do we know they're productive" give this weird impression that people aren't already doing some kind of performance analysis of their staff, and just assume "well he's in the office every day before the boss so he must be working hard!"
If Apple won't agree to what they want / compromise more (i.e. maybe they're happy with 2 days a week, and asking for more is just a bargaining tactic, I have no idea what each of them would 'settle' for) then yep, their best solution may be to leave. But my comment was directed at this:
I don't understand what is expected by this person? They can't ask for better conditions without being called whiners. They can't leave to find better conditions elsewhere without being called babies. "If you don't like it, leave" is the favourite quote of people suggesting anyone who suggests a change to something is wrong. Apparently the only "valid" choice is to shut up and do what you're told, like a good 50's house wife?
If you're used to 5 days a week in the office, and still plan to live in the same area, maybe.
If you had plans to live somewhere else that is vastly cheaper, or closer to family or just nicer, it's not really that helpful.
I've been working 100% remotely (with.. 2 short on-site trips to California and 2 very short stints in a temporary Melbourne office during that time) for 15 years. Before that, I turned down (well technically I just ignored the offer, I didn't actually respond to reject it) an offer because their idea of flexible working hours was "you can take your lunch break any time you want, so long as you're in the office every damn day at 8.30am".
Apple does have a name for itself, and there are definitely people who will bend over backwards to be able to say "I work for a FAANG company" so if push comes to shove, I don't doubt that Apple will replace anyone who leaves over this. Hell, Facebook is basically a cartoon villain organisation at this point, and people are still falling over themselves to get a job there.
Remote working is a thing that exists, and works really well for some roles. That isn't even up for debate to me, it just is. If Apple choose to ignore that, they are going to lose out on some talented people, and the only real question is how many people will not apply/not accept an offer because of that, and how long until Apple realises that.
