Apple Conducts Rare Layoffs Across Multiple Divisions

Apple Makes Rare Move of Laying People Off

Apple has decided to make around 100 employees redundant in its digital services group. The redundancies appear to be linked to a shift in priorities and cost-cutting measures. Apple Books and Apple News do not generate significant revenue for the company, unlike other services. Apple has made several waves of redundancies this year, an unusual situation for the company. At the beginning of the year, 121 people were made redundant in a group linked to Siri and AI in San Diego. In February, several hundred people were affected by the closure of autonomous car and micro LED projects. Apple seems to be preparing for a possible recession. The company prefers to invest in projects with higher growth potential, such as generative artificial intelligence and new healthcare technologies. Despite its efforts, Apple is perceived by investors as lagging behind. The company continues to rely heavily on its flagship products such as the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, but it needs to take more risks to reinvent itself and remain competitive.

Apple Lays Off Staff Across Books, News App Divisions

Apple is laying off some employees across its Books app and News app divisions, amounting to about 100 lost jobs in total, Bloomberg reports this week. Some Apple engineers are losing their positions, and some working on other products and features within Apple's "Services" group are also among the layoffs. Employees that have been notified are being given a last chance to stay at Apple, however, if they manage to find another open job at the company within the next two months. Layoffs are generally uncommon at the trillion-dollar tech giant, especially compared to its competitors, but Apple previously laid off its autonomous vehicle team and other employees earlier this year. While Apple News continues to be important to the company, according to sources familiar with the company's plans, Apple Books isn't and is not being viewed as a critical offering at the moment. The Books app will still be updated in the future, however. This year, Apple has been focusing on AI and its robotics push as it plans to launch a slew of generative AI-powered features with iOS 18. The company has been buying and absorbing AI startups for years now, and has researchers developing AI models in addition to its upcoming Apple Intelligence offering. Apple is also reportedly looking into making robotics products. The company has considered making a robot that follows you around your home, and is working on a smart home display with a robotic arm. This rumored tabletop robot may have a better AI built in than Siri, Apple's voice-powered virtual assistant first launched back in 2011. Tech layoffs more broadly have persisted in recent years as companies tighten up on spending and blame economic challenges, AI ambitions, or geopolitical concerns. In June, Microsoft and Google laid off hundreds of staff each across their respective cloud divisions. Intel confirmed mass layoffs of roughly 15,000 employees in August, and Dell followed suit with plans to cut 12,500 jobs. This week, IBM reportedly cut its research and development department in China, laying off about 1,000 employees in the country as it plans to move its efforts elsewhere.

Apple Just Conducted a Rare Round of Layoffs. Here Are the Teams and Roles Affected.

The services category was the second-best performing part of Apple in net sales in Q3 2024, second only to the iPhone, which brought in over $39 billion. Apple has laid off about 100 employees who worked on products like the Apple Books app and Apple News, Bloomberg reported Tuesday night. Apple informed the affected employees on Tuesday. The company has yet to make the move public. The layoffs impacted roles in the digital services group, including some engineering positions, but the team working on the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore faced the most cuts. Apple has given some employees affected by layoffs 60 days to find another position internally before being let go, per the Bloomberg report. According to Apple's latest earnings report, released earlier this month, the services division brought in over $24 billion in net sales in the third quarter of 2024 ending June 29. It was the second-best performing part of Apple in net sales, second only to the iPhone, which brought in over $39 billion. Related: Morgan Stanley Analysts Named Apple a Top Pick Stock and Doubled Their iPhone Expectations -- Here's Why The earnings report showed that services brought in more sales than the Mac (over $7 billion), iPad (over $7.1 billion), and wearables, home, and accessories (over $8 billion) divisions combined. Apple layoffs are relatively rare. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February 2023 that he viewed layoffs as "a last resort kind of thing." "You can never say never," Cook said at the time. "We want to manage costs in other ways to the degree that we can." Related: Apple Is Expanding What The iPhone Can Do. Here's What's Changing Right Away. Apple did lay off at least 600 employees in April after canceling its 10-year electric car project and ending its effort to make smartwatch screens in-house in February and March. Some of the 2,000 people working on the self-driving, electric car project moved to Apple's AI division.