2023 saw a peak of tech layoffs, with companies such as Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and more announcing layoffs, adding up to over a quarter million layoffs across the world, cumulatively but one company that largely avoided layoffs and to a point CEO Tim Cook came forward to comment on it, during a one-on-one interaction with CNBC. When the interviewer asked about Apple’s stance on layoffs, he said that he sees layoffs as a “last resort” and added, “Layoffs is not something we’re talking about at this moment”.
Now, it seems the “last resort” has come as Apple announced mass layoffs across departments, including those working on its electric car project, and smart display technology. This report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, citing filings with the California Employment Development Department. Another reason why this round of layoffs comes as a surprise because Apple was the only company to avoid mass layoffs since the pandemic, but now it has joined the likes of other big techs in downsizing the overall workforce.
According to multiple reports, the company has laid off more than 700 workers. Notably, Apple is reducing its workforce by 58 employees at a Santa Clara office, formerly LuxVue Technology, a firm specializing in Micro-LED displays acquired by Apple in 2014. Next up, over 120 layoffs are coming through its San Diego office, which corroborates previous reports of the company wanting to shift the team from San Diego to Texas to work on advancing Siri. It’s believed that a major chunk of this round of layoffs is attributed to the cancellation of Project Titan, but there were also reports that Apple might shift the “Apple Car” team to continue working on Apple’s “next big thing” which is a personal mobile robot.
There’s Always a Back Story
When reports began surfacing online about the cancellation of Project Titan a.k.a. Apple Car in February 2024, it was reported that during the same time, top-tier management including COO Jeff Williams and project lead Kevin Lynch held a brief meeting announcing that the project was shutting down, and the teams would be affected, or likely shifted to other divisions. During the same time, there were over 2,000 employees making ends meet to bring the electric car to life, but Apple told that they may be laid off as a warning to be prepared, and the time has come now.
In addition, the other project involving smart display technology for Apple Watch’s MicroLED became a dead duck to layoffs, as the company called off the project citing production issues, consequently affecting more jobs. That said, the tech industry continues to be in bad shape, and Apple announcing layoffs might mean more companies will come forward to lay off workers. So far, approximately 58,000 workers have been laid off this year, according to layoffs.fyi, a tech companies layoff tracker.