Apple recently laid off approximately 100 employees from its services division, which is an unusual move for the tech giant. The layoffs took place on Tuesday, August 27th and primarily impacted employees in senior vice president Eddy Cue’s services group. The cuts were spread across several teams, with the most significant impact on the team responsible for the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore. According to a report on Bloomberg, Apple downsized these teams as it shifts its focus within the services division. Even though Apple Books will continue to receive updates and new features, it is no longer a priority for the company. Despite these layoffs, Apple News remains a key focus, and the cuts in that team are not seen as a sign of reduced importance.
Earlier in 2024, Apple laid off hundreds of employees as it shut down its self-driving car project and a microLED display project. Some employees from the special project group (SPG), out of about 1,400 who were working on the project, were to be moved to Apple’s generative AI projects, as per the Bloomberg report. The electric car project had not been publicized and was mostly kept under wraps. However, it had consumed a significant amount of resources over the past decade, causing concern among senior executives. Additionally, the leadership and strategies of the team had undergone many changes over time. The impacted employees, especially the hardware engineers and car designers, were given three months to find other suitable roles within Apple. If they failed to do so, they were asked to leave the company.
Overall, this move reflects Apple’s ongoing strategy to focus on areas deemed most critical to its future growth, even if it means making tough decisions about its workforce.
