The blackout period extends for some three weeks, beginning in the last week of January and extending through the first half of February. Those with seniority are unaffected, but other retail employees will be prohibited from taking any vacation.
In addition, Apple has retained the temporary retail staff that it and others usual eliminate from retail operations after the holiday shopping season ends.
The obvious reason is a product introduction, and the obvious product that would be introduced would be the Verizon iPhone. While there's also a chance this could be the iPad 2, that's less likely, based on all the signals that both AT&T, Apple and Verizon have been given over the last few months.
On the other hand, it's possible Apple is planning more than one introduction. As noted, the Verizon iPhone top of most lists as the most likely product, but while Apple tends toward annual updates of products, the iPad has been rumored to be getting an early update, to combat the wave of Android tablets being introduced at CES. In addition, with the recent unveiling of Intel's Sandy Bridge processors, another likely update could be Apple's Mac line.
At any rate, it appears that since this falls at the end of January, some folks might be getting Apple-centric Valentine's Day presents.
