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Tag: layoffs

  • Apple confirms layoffs of more than 700 employees following the cancelation of its Apple Car, other projects

    Apple confirms layoffs of more than 700 employees following the cancelation of its Apple Car, other projects

    Sometimes projects just don’t work out.

    Apple has confirmed that the company is laying off more than 700 employees following the cancelation of its Apple Car project and is also reconsidering the project to develop in-house Micro-LED displays. The layoffs became known after the company filed WARN notices in the state of California.

    Per 9to5Mac, and as seen in the WARN report provided by the California Employment Development Department, the layoffs affect projects that have been in the news recently. Apple is currently laying off 58 employees from one of its offices in Santa Clara. This particular office belonged to LuxVue Technology, a company specializing in Micro-LED displays that Apple acquired in 2014.

    There are also more layoff notices filed by Apple which are thought to be part of an effort for Apple to produce its own Micro-LED displays for the Apple Watch. Bloomberg noted that Apple gave up on the project because the screens “were difficult to produce in sufficient quantities.” Additional layoffs include Apple staff from a San Diego office, where a Siri data operations office had been located. The office was responsible for evaluating Siri’s responses to users and for helping the company improve the platform’s accuracy.

    At the time, Apple offered to relocate all affected employees to offices in Austin, Texas, if they agreed.

    The Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification (WARN) effort aims to protect employees by requiring employers to give a 60-day notice to affected employees and both state and local representatives before a plant closing or mass layoff. This gives laid-off employees time to adjust and transition to new jobs. Apple is noted as generally trying to reallocate employees from canceled projects to other departments, and some of the engineers working on the Apple Car have been offered positions to work on AI-related features at Apple. However, not everyone had the chance to be reassigned since more than 2,000 people were working on this specific project.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and Bloomberg

  • After more than a decade, Apple Car project comes to an end

    After more than a decade, Apple Car project comes to an end

    After a decade-long effort, Apple has officially canceled its effort to build an electric car.

    Per Bloomberg, the move was announced internally by Apple COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, who had been leading the Apple Car project since 2021.

    “Apple’s most senior executives finalized the decision in recent weeks,” the report says. The project had reached a “make-or-break point” inside Apple, with Tim Cook also facing pressure from shareholders to make a decision.

    The article cited how over 2,000 people had been working on the Apple Car – or Project Titan – team. It’s also noted that some employees will move to Apple’s AI team led by John Giannandrea.

    Employees who weren’t shifted over to Apple’s AI effort might be able to “apply for jobs on other Apple teams,” but there “will be layoffs,” according to the article. It’s not explicitly clear how many lay-offs will happen.

    Apple is said to have made the disclosure internally on Tuesday. The decision was shared by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the effort, according to the people.

    Apple had been working on an electric car since 2014, complete with significant changes to its goals and design over the years. It had been reported that Apple was targeting a 2028 release date for the vehicle with a price tag of around $100,000. The company’s initial goal was to ship a fully autonomous car, without steering wheels or pedals. Those ambitions were dramatically scaled back in recent years.

    The Apple Car project was led by Doug Field. Field was hired away by Tesla in 2013 to help lead the production ramp for the Model 3. Field landed back at Apple in 2018 to help lead the Apple Car project, before departing for Ford in September 2021.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and Bloomberg

  • Alphabet salary offers disclosed for Analysts, Managers And Engineers

    Alphabet salary offers disclosed for Analysts, Managers And Engineers

    Following up on Apple’s disclosure of employee salaries, Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, was recently required to disclose employee salary offers in order to stay in compliance with the U.S. Office of Foreign Labor Certification where work-visa applications are concerned.

    The results were fairly surprising, and even after recent layoffs, the highest base salary in the pay data was $1 million, paid to the company’s chief people officer. The lowest offer Google made was just under $55,000.

    None of these offers include stock-based compensation, performance rewards, or bonuses, but it still offers some insight into what the search giant is willing to hand over to prospective workers.

    Here’s what was discovered in terms of base salary offers for positions at Google:

    • Product Analyst: $101,000 to $218,000
    • Accountant: $111,000 to $191,000
    • Solutions Consultant: $78,000 to $225,000
    • Product Manager: $146,000 to $251,000
    • Finance Manager: $194,000 to $268,000
    • Marketing Manager: $148,000 to $293,000
    • Software Engineering Manager: $210,000 to 340,000
    • Network Engineer: $106,000 to $266,000
    • Privacy Engineer: $136,000 to $198,000
    • Mechanical Engineer: $111,000 to $171,000
    • Software Engineer: $78,500 to $325,000
    • Visual Designer: $148,000 to $205,000
    • Research Scientist: $141,000 to $285,000
    • Data Scientist: $103,000 to $269,000

    According to recent reports, Google has been slowly cutting back extras and perks, and the company’s in-house café is open and available to employees. Google also tightened up its policy on how long workers must wait before they are eligible to have their notebooks swapped for newer models.

    Other temporary cuts include overall changes to catering, no more free massages, and the closure of some of its fitness centers and on-campus travel options. Google has even cut back on team socials and events, including holiday gifts and parties, as well as access to company merchandise.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via Benzinga and Business Insider

  • Apple reportedly giving escalating warnings to employees who don’t meet return-to-work attendance standards

    Apple reportedly giving escalating warnings to employees who don’t meet return-to-work attendance standards

    Apple has reportedly begun escalating enforcement of its return-to-office policies by tracking badge records to ensure in-person attendance three times a week.

    The COVID-19 pandemic pushed most companies, including Apple, to embrace work-from-home policies, including Apple. Since risks surrounding the virus have decreased, and vaccines are now readily available, the corporate world has been pushing for a return to office — but not without some resistance.

    Per a tweet from Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer, Apple has begun tracking in-person employee attendance via badge records. employees who don’t come in three times a week have been given escalating warnings.

    While it isn’t a direct policy from Apple, some organizations within the company say failure to comply could result in termination, reports Schiffer.

    The news arrives only a week after a report stating that Apple has begun seeking various cost-cutting measures. While the company hasn’t begun mass layoffs similar to Facebook, it is leaving positions open after an employee departs.

    This, in turn, means that if an employee is terminated due to failure to comply with the return to office mandate, Apple has one less employee to pay. However, since termination due to a failure of compliance isn’t an official Apple policy, the company is unlikely to use this as a serious cost-cutting measure.

    Employees have also been vocal about the right to work from home, given the potential health hazards as well as improved productivity and morale for some departments.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, and @ZoeSchiffer

  • Apple offers apology for Siri grading program, indicates that contractors will be brought back this fall after changes to program

    Following up on yesterday’s article about Apple firing more than 300 contractors grading Siri requests, the company has stated that it will halt the Siri grading program while giving it a “thorough review.”

    The company has apparently finished the review and issued a statement apologizing for the way in which the program had been carried out. Apple also stated that it plans to reactivate the program this fall following some important changes.

    Apple’s apology stated that “privacy is a fundamental human right,” and then describes how Apple designed Siri to protect your privacy by collecting as little data as possible, using random identifiers instead of personally identifiable information, never using data to build marketing profiles or sell to others.

    The statement also details how user data helps the software improve, that “training” on real data is necessary, and only 0.2 percent of Siri requests were graded by humans.

    In short, the fired contractors will probably be brought back after some significant changes to the program and policy.

    Stay tuned for additional changes as they become available.

    Via Macworld and Apple