Apple Expands Hiring Freeze, Delays Bonuses for Some Employees

[newyorksole]

That's not a layoff. That means those people would've been fired regardless of economic conditions (stealing time, attendance issues).

I specifically said in my post that it’s firings lol.

And nah. This is them trimming the fat to save costs (as little as it may be in the grand scheme) and avoiding actual layoffs. This scale has never happened before. Could it have happened regardless? Sure, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s happening now when all of these other tech companies are letting employees go.

Also, when has Apple ever done any of the things the article suggests? We’re in a unique time…

 

[airbusking]

Maybe this explains why Timmy over ruled his staff and is pushing out apple VR headsets.

 

[coolfactor]

Tim Cook should be paid sweet FA until he gets this goddamn crap software sorted out

Please list THREE major software issues that you deal with every day.

I dare you.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Can anyone say PIZZA PARTY?

 

[v0lume4]

1. It appears that Apple leadership is applying “productive paranoia”, a leadership execution that suggests being overly careful, paranoid, before things get bad; publicized greatly by Jim Collins.

2. Hiring freezes on R&D, is nearly always a mistake, and doing so may result in negative repercussions on future market competitiveness and growth.

3. Regardless of the legitimacy of this decision, freezing or reducing bonuses makes Apple appear disingenuous as their executive compensation remains one of the highest in the world. While Apple’s profit may justify such extreme compensation, depending on your political position (I’m not advocating either way), the best leaders know that when reducing labor costs, the example must start at the top.

4. I’m not judging executive decision making per se, rather, I’m pointing out that freezing lower level pay while still paying out tens of millions in bonuses, even if those bonuses are significantly reduced year-over-year, appears disingenuous. Additionally, this fosters an “Us” verses “They” mentality, which is harmful for a cooperative, creative environment.

5. Lastly, another Jim Collins lesson, this one from Great By Choice, is that in times of disruption and chaos, you need to have the ability and resources to plan slowly and then act fast. I think this is something Apple has actually gotten right quite often.


In viewing Apple from the outside, as most of us do, I have noticed evidence of stages 1 - 3 of decline*. However, I have also seen some great leadership. In general, I think Tim and Apple are doing some great things; I just wish they’d stop doing some of the wrong things too.



* Five stages of decline from How The Mighty Fall: by Jim Collins
Stage 1: Hubris born of success
Stage 2: Undisciplined pursuit of more
Stage 3: Denial of risk and peril
Stage 4: Grasping for salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to death or irrelevance

Great read!!

 

[Abazigal]

When a large number of the worlds top tech companies begin laying off thousands of their employees it is a sign that there is something majorly going wrong with the economy and those in power need to take note because already there is a Silicon Valley bank that has gone under which is having a ripple effect around the world. Who else is going to fail?

Apple is doing very well to weather the storm but how long can they hold out for before they are forced to start laying people off.

I am still not convinced it's anything to overthink, much less worry about.

The layoffs place those companies back to where they were prior to the start of the pandemic, before they went on a giant hiring spree. It meant that they placed a wrong bet that trends sparked by the pandemic would continue afterwards, rather than regressing to the norm. In contrast, Apple has proven to be more disciplined by not over-hiring (thus they likely don't have much fat that they can trim, even if they wanted to), and generally being very careful with their costs all around.

Even if the economy does wind up being bad enough that Apple has to retrench some people, I am not sure what your issue is with it really. Like everyone else is already doing very badly and Apple is expected to be the outlier that continues to show growth even in a crisis?

I can't speak for the CVB crash either, but suffice to say that the major tech giants likely have limited exposure to it because these are not the type of companies who would park all their cash in such an entity. If anything, having smaller tech firms go under because they can't access their funds would actually mean less competition for them.

 

[lazyrighteye]

1. It appears that Apple leadership is applying “productive paranoia”, a leadership execution that suggests being overly careful, paranoid, before things get bad; publicized greatly by Jim Collins.

2. Hiring freezes on R&D, is nearly always a mistake, and doing so may result in negative repercussions on future market competitiveness and growth.

3. Regardless of the legitimacy of this decision, freezing or reducing bonuses makes Apple appear disingenuous as their executive compensation remains one of the highest in the world. While Apple’s profit may justify such extreme compensation, depending on your political position (I’m not advocating either way), the best leaders know that when reducing labor costs, the example must start at the top.

4. I’m not judging executive decision making per se, rather, I’m pointing out that freezing lower level pay while still paying out tens of millions in bonuses, even if those bonuses are significantly reduced year-over-year, appears disingenuous. Additionally, this fosters an “Us” verses “They” mentality, which is harmful for a cooperative, creative environment.

5. Lastly, another Jim Collins lesson, this one from Great By Choice, is that in times of disruption and chaos, you need to have the ability and resources to plan slowly and then act fast. I think this is something Apple has actually gotten right quite often.


In viewing Apple from the outside, as most of us do, I have noticed evidence of stages 1 - 3 of decline*. However, I have also seen some great leadership. In general, I think Tim and Apple are doing some great things; I just wish they’d stop doing some of the wrong things too.



* Five stages of decline from How The Mighty Fall: by Jim Collins
Stage 1: Hubris born of success
Stage 2: Undisciplined pursuit of more
Stage 3: Denial of risk and peril
Stage 4: Grasping for salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to death or irrelevance

Spot on. Thanks.

 

[steve09090]

He doesn’t get as much off of tax as he gives away. Tax is only a proportion of what he gives away. So it’s not a tax dodge.

Basically if tax is 30%. Then if be gives $1M away, he might have a $300,000 tax credit, so he is in a $700,000 loss!

I just checked this up for the U.S. as it’s different here in Australia. Interestingly. The way I read it, In the U.S. If Cook donates shares to Charity, Cook actually has to pay the capital gains he has made prior to the gift, as charities don’t pay the capital gains. Someone has to pay it. So Cook loses out.

So to the poster who said it is a tax dodge, they are 100% wrong and it actually costs Cook the tax on the capital gains, plus the value of the stock he is obviously giving away.

 

[Kimmo]

"A steady Cupertino ship in rough macro waters"

Not everyone is bearish on Tim Cook and the $2.4 trillion company, with 164,000 full time employees and $394 billion in annual revenue that he leads.

Apple maintains ‘Outperform’ rating with higher price target from Wedbush analysts on improved demand story

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has maintained its ‘Outperform’ rating, with its 12-month price target raised to $190 from $180 by Wedbush Securities analysts after...

www.proactiveinvestors.com

And there's a guy from Omaha who seems knows a few things about public companies. He's been investing in Apple.

"Warren Buffet famously didn't own any major tech stocks until Apple, and since, he's been publicly complimenting CEO Tim Cook's leadership."

Berkshire Hathaway now owns 5.8% of public Apple stock | AppleInsider

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway continues to increase its stake in Apple stock, adding 333,856 shares in Q4 2022.

appleinsider.com

 

[Muceda]

It is due to the Mini not selling well … oh, wait!

 

[svish]

Good to still hear that Apple is still not laying off employees.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

1. It appears that Apple leadership is applying “productive paranoia”, a leadership execution that suggests being overly careful, paranoid, before things get bad; publicized greatly by Jim Collins.

2. Hiring freezes on R&D, is nearly always a mistake, and doing so may result in negative repercussions on future market competitiveness and growth.

3. Regardless of the legitimacy of this decision, freezing or reducing bonuses makes Apple appear disingenuous as their executive compensation remains one of the highest in the world. While Apple’s profit may justify such extreme compensation, depending on your political position (I’m not advocating either way), the best leaders know that when reducing labor costs, the example must start at the top.

4. I’m not judging executive decision making per se, rather, I’m pointing out that freezing lower level pay while still paying out tens of millions in bonuses, even if those bonuses are significantly reduced year-over-year, appears disingenuous. Additionally, this fosters an “Us” verses “They” mentality, which is harmful for a cooperative, creative environment.

5. Lastly, another Jim Collins lesson, this one from Great By Choice, is that in times of disruption and chaos, you need to have the ability and resources to plan slowly and then act fast. I think this is something Apple has actually gotten right quite often.


In viewing Apple from the outside, as most of us do, I have noticed evidence of stages 1 - 3 of decline*. However, I have also seen some great leadership. In general, I think Tim and Apple are doing some great things; I just wish they’d stop doing some of the wrong things too.



* Five stages of decline from How The Mighty Fall: by Jim Collins
Stage 1: Hubris born of success
Stage 2: Undisciplined pursuit of more
Stage 3: Denial of risk and peril
Stage 4: Grasping for salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to death or irrelevance

👏🏻 Well said! Good job! *High Five* ✋🏻

 

[KaliYoni]

And there's a guy from Omaha who seems knows a few things about public companies. He's been investing in Apple.

"Warren Buffet famously didn't own any major tech stocks until Apple, and since, he's been publicly complimenting CEO Tim Cook's leadership."

If I recall correctly, Buffett isn't the one running Berkshire's AAPL holdings and trades. He has two co-managers who have made essentially all of Berkshire's tech stock buys and sells since they came on board. But he is still the main mouthpiece plus he has a long history of talking up the holdings in his portfolio.

 

[danielsutton]

Amid falling revenue, Apple has decided to expand its hiring freeze to encompass additional roles, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The company also plans to delay bonuses for some of its employees.

Apple late last year paused hiring for most jobs outside of research and development to cut down on costs, after slowing down on hiring and spending last July. At the time, the hiring moratorium did not apply to teams working on future devices and long-term Apple initiatives, but the freeze is now applicable for more jobs. Apple is leaving positions open as employees depart the company as a way to cut down on the workforce.

In addition to slowing hiring, Apple is planning to reduce the frequency of bonuses for some of its corporate workforce. Apple normally provides bonuses and promotions once or twice per year depending on division, with the extra money paid out in April and October, but the company is shifting entirely to a once-per-year bonus schedule. Bonus payments will be provided in October for all teams, and employees are still set to receive their full bonuses.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is also being paid less this year, and he is set to receive $49 million in salary, bonuses, and stock awards, down approximately 50 percent from the $99 million he was paid in 2022.

Unlike many tech companies, Apple has not announced layoffs, focusing instead on cutting down on hiring. Twitter has seen thousands of employees cut following a takeover by Elon Musk, and just this week, Facebook announced plans to lay off approximately 10,000 employees. Microsoft cut its AI ethics team this month following several prior layoff events, while Google parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees in January.

Apple in the first fiscal quarter of 2023 saw a five percent drop in revenue year-over-year, and for the second fiscal quarter, the company is expecting a notable decline in Mac and iPad revenue, which will lead to similar sales numbers.

Article Link: Apple Expands Hiring Freeze, Delays Bonuses for Some Employees

When prices go up, sales go down. When prices go down, sales go up. This is the position that Apple has been in for the entire history of the company. They have consistently limited their market share, and put themselves in a pickle by charging an arm and a leg.

One of the reasons that Apple started designing their own chips (Apple Silicon) is because they wanted to save some money. If they would only pass that savings on to us, their customers, and make their products more affordable, they could increase sales, which would also increase revenue and profit.

Apple keeps doing the same thing, and the same thing keeps happening!

 

[MuppetGate]

You don't think they are overly paid?

Compared to what?

As a comparison to how much the spend on hair products? Possibly.

As a comparison to how much their leadership brings into the company …?

 

[NotTooLate]

Welcome to Tim Cook's Apple, Everyone.

So companies are firing left and right while still making tons of money , and Apple is slowing down recruiting and delaying a bonus for some of the teams that have 2 bonus a year cycle , while having the CEO cut down his salary by 50% , and you make it sound like he is a monster.
Go look at Google / Microsoft / Intel / Twitter /Meta to see how they treat their workforce , tens of thousands loosing their jobs.

You can make a pole in any tech company right now and the majority will vote Tim Cook as the best CEO in Silicon Valley , Apple handled the crisis the best by far in regards to their employees , by FAR.

 

[Lihp8270]

When prices go up, sales go down. When prices go down, sales go up. This is the position that Apple has been in for the entire history of the company. They have consistently limited their market share, and put themselves in a pickle by charging an arm and a leg.

One of the reasons that Apple started designing their own chips (Apple Silicon) is because they wanted to save some money. If they would only pass that savings on to us, their customers, and make their products more affordable, they could increase sales, which would also increase revenue and profit.

Apple keeps doing the same thing, and the same thing keeps happening!

The R&D savings of developing their own platform and the M series chips are going to take many more years to realise into savings for consumers.

 

[jlc1978]

You realize why CEOs take a $1 salary, right? They get paid in stock options instead, which are taxed at a lower rate.

It also allowed him, as an employee, to get full benefits.

 

[Abazigal]

1. It appears that Apple leadership is applying “productive paranoia”, a leadership execution that suggests being overly careful, paranoid, before things get bad; publicized greatly by Jim Collins.

2. Hiring freezes on R&D, is nearly always a mistake, and doing so may result in negative repercussions on future market competitiveness and growth.

3. Regardless of the legitimacy of this decision, freezing or reducing bonuses makes Apple appear disingenuous as their executive compensation remains one of the highest in the world. While Apple’s profit may justify such extreme compensation, depending on your political position (I’m not advocating either way), the best leaders know that when reducing labor costs, the example must start at the top.

4. I’m not judging executive decision making per se, rather, I’m pointing out that freezing lower level pay while still paying out tens of millions in bonuses, even if those bonuses are significantly reduced year-over-year, appears disingenuous. Additionally, this fosters an “Us” verses “They” mentality, which is harmful for a cooperative, creative environment.

5. Lastly, another Jim Collins lesson, this one from Great By Choice, is that in times of disruption and chaos, you need to have the ability and resources to plan slowly and then act fast. I think this is something Apple has actually gotten right quite often.


In viewing Apple from the outside, as most of us do, I have noticed evidence of stages 1 - 3 of decline*. However, I have also seen some great leadership. In general, I think Tim and Apple are doing some great things; I just wish they’d stop doing some of the wrong things too.



* Five stages of decline from How The Mighty Fall: by Jim Collins
Stage 1: Hubris born of success
Stage 2: Undisciplined pursuit of more
Stage 3: Denial of risk and peril
Stage 4: Grasping for salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to death or irrelevance

I don't know enough about this theory to comment on whether it's applicable to Apple or not.

Suffice to say, it wouldn't be the first time someone has attempted to predict Apple's impending doom using an established study (the most notable one I recall was Clayton Christianson's Theory of Disruption) and ended up being embarrassingly wrong for it.

 

[J___o___h___n]

Is this really how the worlds biggest company treats its employees?

 

[I7guy]

1. It appears that Apple leadership is applying “productive paranoia”, a leadership execution that suggests being overly careful, paranoid, before things get bad; publicized greatly by Jim Collins.

2. Hiring freezes on R&D, are nearly always a mistake, and doing so may result in negative repercussions on future market competitiveness and growth.

3. Regardless of the legitimacy of this decision, freezing or reducing bonuses makes Apple appear disingenuous as their executive compensation remains one of the highest in the world. While Apple’s profit may justify such extreme compensation, depending on your political position (I’m not advocating either way), the best leaders know that when reducing labor costs, the example must be set at the top.

4. I’m not judging executive decision making per se, rather, I’m pointing out that freezing lower level pay while still paying out tens of millions in bonuses, even if those bonuses are significantly reduced year-over-year, appears disingenuous. Additionally, this fosters an “Us” verses “They” mentality, which is harmful for a cooperative, creative environment.

5. Lastly, another Jim Collins lesson, this one from Great By Choice, is that in times of disruption and chaos, you need to have the ability and resources to plan slowly and then act fast. I think this is something Apple has actually gotten right quite often.


In viewing Apple from the outside, as most of us do, I have noticed evidence of stages 1 - 3 of decline*. However, I have also seen some great leadership. In general, I think Tim and Apple are doing some great things; I just wish they’d stop doing some of the wrong things too.



* Five stages of decline from How The Mighty Fall: by Jim Collins
Stage 1: Hubris born of success
Stage 2: Undisciplined pursuit of more
Stage 3: Denial of risk and peril
Stage 4: Grasping for salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to death or irrelevance

While there are a lot of bright people on macrumors I notice apple is doing well in spite of the “advice” given.

 

[steve09090]

When prices go up, sales go down. When prices go down, sales go up. This is the position that Apple has been in for the entire history of the company. They have consistently limited their market share, and put themselves in a pickle by charging an arm and a leg.

That’s called Keynesian Economics. It’s the way it works.

I'd say they are a pretty popular pickle, because they often sell everything they make. Sounds like they have not overcharged.

 

[MacNerd1239]

They're not doing layoffs but word from inside Apple Retail seems that they're suddenly VERY concerned about Time & Attendance, moreso than usual, and a lot of average performers are being put on performance plans to prep for termination.

 

[ninethirty]

They don't have 2 trillion in the bank, that is the company's valuation.

I absolutely love that there's still one person out there who read your comment and defiantly was like "Nope, you're wrong."

 

[Razorpit]

per https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/tim-cook

• American Cancer Society
• Bloomberg Philanthropies
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
• Doctors Without Borders
• Dress for Success
• Gabrielle's Angel Foundation
• Gloria Estefan Foundation
• GLSEN
• GO Campaign
• Hollywood Charity Horse Show
• Lumos
• PETA
• Robert F Kennedy Memorial
• Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation
• The Humane Society
• UNHCR
• United Nations Foundation

Bingo!