Apple, one of the largest technology companies in the world, has recently announced the layoff of 614 employees working in California, marking the company’s first significant staff reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic. The affected employees work at eight different facilities in the city of Santa Clara and were notified of the layoffs on March 28. The cuts will take effect on May 27, according to documents filed with the California government.
The layoffs came after Apple decided to cancel its ambitious self-driving electric vehicle project called Apple Car, which had been in development for many years. The project, which was said to cost billions of dollars and mobilize hundreds of engineers, was stopped due to technical difficulties and challenges in bringing the product to market. Although Apple did not disclose the specific number of employees affected by the Apple Car project, the number of 614 layoffs shows the significant impact of canceling this project. Positions being cut include machine shop managers, hardware engineers, and product design engineers.
This round of layoffs takes place in a context where the technology industry is facing many common difficulties such as high inflation, rising interest rates, and declining consumer demand. Many other large technology companies such as Meta, Netflix, and X have also made or are planning to cut staff recently.
Apple has stated that it will support the fired employees in finding new jobs, including providing severance pay and career counseling services. It is unclear what plans Apple will have for the future of the laid-off employees.