The layoff of 614 employees in California marks a major milestone for Apple, demonstrating a shift in the company’s strategy and its focus on new areas.
Apple has announced 614 layoffs in California, according to filings with the state’s Employment Development Department. This is the company’s first major round of job cuts since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The affected employees work at eight different facilities in Santa Clara and were officially informed of the reductions on March 28, and the changes will take effect on May 27.
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Apple hasn’t been forced into the same kind of downsizing as its tech peers, largely because its growth has been slower during the pandemic.
The layoff decision is due to the company canceling a long-term project to build a self-driving electric car, in addition to its focus on other areas such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Jobs cut include machine shop managers, instrumentation engineers and product design engineers.
Apple is considering the move toward personal robots, which it sees as one of the company’s ever-changing “next big things.”
The company’s engineers are exploring a mobile robot that can follow users around their homes, as well as an advanced tabletop home device that uses robots to move the screen.
