Apple Inc. has made the decision to lay off more than 600 employees in California, marking the company’s inaugural significant wave of post-pandemic job reductions amidst a broader trend of consolidation within the tech industry.
As reported to regional authorities, on March 28th, the renowned iPhone manufacturer informed 614 employees across various offices that their positions were being terminated, with the layoffs scheduled to take effect on May 27th.
According to filings under California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), the affected workers hailed from eight offices situated in Santa Clara. However, specific details regarding the departments or projects involved remain undisclosed.
Apple has yet to provide immediate commentary in response to inquiries made early Friday.
The Cupertino-based company had stood out as a notable anomaly while numerous other tech firms downsized their workforce over the preceding two years. The COVID-19 pandemic witnessed a substantial surge in recruitment, fueled by increased online activity and expenditure. Despite this, as growth rates decelerate, corporations are redirecting their focus towards cost reduction to fortify their financial standings.
This move by Apple follows a series of similar actions within the industry. Earlier this week, Amazon announced a new wave of layoffs within its cloud computing arm, AWS. Additionally, Electronic Arts disclosed plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 5%, Sony unveiled intentions to eliminate around 900 jobs in its PlayStation division, Cisco Systems declared intentions to lay off more than 4,000 employees, and social media giant Snap Inc., parent company of Snapchat, revealed intentions to slash 10% of its global workforce.
Source: The Associated Press
