In a world where tech layoffs have become a norm, companies such as Apple, which sits at the apex of tech corporations in terms of market valuation, haven’t really matched their energy to the copycat firings we have been seeing in recent weeks and months. However, this appears to have changed over the last week or so because the iPhone and MacBook maker is reportedly shedding off some of its employees.
As per people aware of the matter and reported by various publications, Apple is downsizing a few job positions in its corporate retail teams, which is the first instance of internal job cuts since the company started cost-cutting measures last year. The development and preservation teams are the ones affected, who are accountable for building and maintaining Apple’s retail stores and other establishments worldwide. However, no official announcement made yet.
Although it is unclear how many positions will be affected, it is expected to be a small number. Apple’s decision to eliminate jobs marks a new development for the corporation, which has watched its peers downsize due to a weak economy and reduced consumer spending. It is also one of the few companies that did not aggressively hire people during the pandemic – a move that has since seen many of its counterparts let go of their workers in large numbers.
Instead of presenting the move as layoffs, Apple frames it as a way to streamline its operations. The company informed its employees that the adjustments aim to enhance maintenance across its global stores and that support will be provided to affected workers.
The company had previously cut jobs within its self-driving car division, dismissing a couple of hundred employees before the pandemic.
Unlike several major tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft that have disclosed significant job cuts, Apple’s policy of avoiding layoffs has distinguished it from its rivals. The number of positions that have been eliminated by these companies are as follows: Google (12,000 jobs), Amazon (27,000 jobs), Meta (21,000 jobs), and Microsoft (10,000 jobs).
Microsoft is still laying off the said workers, including in Kenya, and it appears the whole exercise will take the next couple of weeks to complete.
