Big tech layoffs have been a major story over the past few months. Some of the biggest tech companies on the planet have laid off tens of thousands of their employees to cut costs during these challenging economic times.
However, Apple stood out as it withheld taking similar action. It seems that Apple can't hold on to this for much longer. Multiple news outlets are reporting that Apple has now started to lay off people from its retail teams.
Apple employees no longer insulated from tech industry layoffs
Bloomberg reports that Apple is laying off some people from its retail teams. The exact number isn't known but the scribe mentions that it's “likely very small.” The report also mentions that Apple is justifying this decision internally as a way to streamline operations instead of a way to cut costs. The jobs have primarily been cut in a division that handles building maintenance and upkeep for its retail stores.
Apple's layoffs are likely not as significant yet as the other major tech companies. Amazon has cut 27,000 jobs while Meta (Facebook) has eliminated 21,000 positions. Microsoft and Google have also cut 10,000 and 12,000 jobs respectively.
While Cupertino's layoffs aren't as massive, it remains to be seen if Apple resorts to periodically cutting positions in smaller numbers going forward. Even if that's the case, it's no longer one of the only major tech companies capable of weathering the storm without laying off people.
Samsung has had to take similar decisions. The company recently fired 3% of its workforce from its chip division in the United States. There's always the possibility of further layoffs, particularly from he wider semiconductor division, due to the rather challenging economic situation for this business unit.
