"Not layoffs but streamlining". I'm sure Apple's fancy euphemism will make those laid-off employees feel better.
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Apple Laying Off Some Corporate Retail Employees
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Doesn’t sound like it’s driven by raw cost savings. Sounds like they want to do something different in that area of the business and don’t need the extra staff. They’ve obviously invented new roles to reflect this hence allowing workers to reapply for these new roles.
This is pretty normal in large successful businesses. The other tech companies are giving a completely different reason for their mass layoffs.
This is pretty normal in large successful businesses. The other tech companies are giving a completely different reason for their mass layoffs.
"Slowing hiring has allowed Apple to avoid the widespread layoffs that other tech companies have announced in recent months."
Responsible attitude. Decades ago in the techno slump of 1985 I listened to John Young, then-President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, speaking at Comdex on the subject of 'Surviving the industry downturn'. Young stressed it was important not to lose key staff as these would be needed as the industry recovered, and instead of redundancies, HP had imposed a 5% cut in staff salaries, with executives taking a 10% cut.
Responsible attitude. Decades ago in the techno slump of 1985 I listened to John Young, then-President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, speaking at Comdex on the subject of 'Surviving the industry downturn'. Young stressed it was important not to lose key staff as these would be needed as the industry recovered, and instead of redundancies, HP had imposed a 5% cut in staff salaries, with executives taking a 10% cut.
Yes, taking a responsible attitude towards employees during economic downturns can have long-term benefits for a company. As John Young emphasized, retaining key staff members can help a company recover more quickly when the industry rebounds.
Additionally, avoiding widespread layoffs can also help maintain employee morale and reduce the negative impact on local communities where the company operates. It can also help the company maintain its reputation as a responsible employer and attract top talent in the future.
Salary cuts for executives and employees can also be a more equitable approach to reducing costs during a downturn, as it distributes the impact of the downturn more evenly across the company rather than placing the burden solely on lower-level employees.
Of course, each company's situation is unique, and there may be cases where layoffs are necessary to ensure the company's survival. However, in general, taking a responsible and thoughtful approach to managing staff during a downturn can benefit both the company and its employees in the long run.
It is healthy for a company to reorganize occasionally to improve operations. It could be moving a role to be more centralized than regional or more automated for instance. Usually operations changes is a combination of adding and removing positions but may remove more positions overall due to efficiency.
This isn’t really a sign of weakness within Apple. Just because the economy is a little weak due to inflation, Apple looks ahead for years on how they staff. There isn’t massive turnover between good and bad times.
This isn’t really a sign of weakness within Apple. Just because the economy is a little weak due to inflation, Apple looks ahead for years on how they staff. There isn’t massive turnover between good and bad times.
Always seems to be the 'little guy' losing their jobs. I wonder when we are going to hear of Apple firing senior management because they are no longer needed. How many VP's and assistant VP's has Apple got rid of recently (not due to retiring or leaving of their own accord).
That's capitalism with public companies.
Investors expect money back hand over fist ... day over day ... month over month ... forever and ever.
Pretty sustainable, no?
Cutting the thin guys does not help the bottom line and it creates frustrations in the company. It may look like a nice strategy but it usually ends negative for the corporation.
Better do real cut when really necessary, and work through re-allocating the people when cuts are not really necessary. You will get a better efficiency of your workforce (and your people will be better).
Better do real cut when really necessary, and work through re-allocating the people when cuts are not really necessary. You will get a better efficiency of your workforce (and your people will be better).
I love how 30 an hour is seen as a poor wage in the US. Here in the UK that would be around the 85th percentile and an extremely respectable amount of money to be on
Same is true in USA. It isn’t the absolute dollar amount involved, it’s the comparison of it to Apple’s profit.
It’s Ironic that today Apple’s HQ building sits atop the bones of that long-lost corporate culture.
$30 an hour won't get you the boat, the $70,000 car, mc mansion, and all the other must have materialistic status symbols
Yeah, I'm sure people who are losing their jobs will find a crumb of comfort in that their bleak immediate future keeps some faceless shareholders happy. A sacrifice that affects them and their families that they will be honoured to take on the chin.
Cupertino has this weird thing for flogging retail that carries on to this day.
A real leader (Steve) could walk the halls of Cupertino and clean up the unproductive waste in a day.
This is what happens when a guy (Cook) has an agenda of "everyone is equal and great in terms of their ability in business and engineering" is allowed to run the company.
Unfortunately that falls on Steve - he picked Cook.
A real leader (Steve) could walk the halls of Cupertino and clean up the unproductive waste in a day.
This is what happens when a guy (Cook) has an agenda of "everyone is equal and great in terms of their ability in business and engineering" is allowed to run the company.
Unfortunately that falls on Steve - he picked Cook.
Income cut off just in time for summer. Awesome!
Look at the bright side though - Tim Cook will be enjoying his summer.
In the early 2000s, I worked for a certain well-known microprocessor company. When I was hired, they boasted that the company had never had a layoff in its history. Less than a year later, I was one of 1,100 people who were being "redeployed," to use their term. (The expensive startup division for which we were hired was a failure.) That meant we had two months to find another job within the company. There were approximately 100 openings. But the company still maintained that it wasn't a layoff.
But I switched industries and now work for a great company. When the pandemic hit, some people were laid off and some were furloughed for several months. The rest of us were asked to take a temporary 20% pay cut (50% for executives) until things settled down. We ended up doing well during that first year, we everyone was given back almost all of the pay they'd given up during that year. In my long career experience, that kind of thing is a rarity, and it inspires loyalty in employees.
Apple has fired over 100 employees from the 5th ave apple store, over 70 at grand central terminal, 60 at upper west side, and similar numbers at every other store. Apple is terminating about 10000 retail hourly employees, the lowest earners at the company, wonderful right?
Apple is planning to cut a small number of corporate retail employees that are on its development and preservation teams, reports Bloomberg. The employees that are part of the downsizing handle the construction and upkeep of Apple retail locations worldwide.
It is not clear how many positions Apple is eliminating, but Bloomberg says the cuts are "likely very small." Still, this is the first known report of Apple culling its internal workforce to cut spending. Back in June 2022, the company laid off up to 100 contractors that handled recruiting, but contractors are not full-time workers. Apple has also cut engineers and security guards that held contracting roles.
Apple told employees that these are not layoffs, but streamlining, and that the changes are aimed at improving the upkeep of stores globally. Those who were cut have the option to reapply for positions similar to their prior job, and those who do not take on a new role could get up to four months of pay.
Apple in November paused hiring for most jobs outside of research and development, and in March of this year, Apple expanded the hiring freeze. For many teams, Apple has halted hiring, and when employees leave, positions are being left open. Slowing hiring has allowed Apple to avoid the widespread layoffs that other tech companies have announced in recent months.
Twitter has eliminated thousands of employees following the takeover by Elon Musk, and last month, Facebook announced plans to lay off approximately 10,000 employees. Microsoft cut its AI ethics team in March following several prior layoff events, and Google parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees in January.
Article Link: Apple Laying Off Some Corporate Retail Employees
They aren't calling them layoffs because they're firing the employees for small things, including 3 trans women at my store. I just don't understand how Apple can hide their layoffs with firings. They're ruining their reputations and refusing them severance because Apple is trying to not spend any more money on their retail teams.
The firings started the week of the most recent earnings call from Apple. It makes me sad that my fellow coworkers are being fired en mass
And it depends on where you are. Where we are it was decent until all these prices spiked.
That definition is corporate retailing as a distribution channel. Not 'corporate retail' as an employee category.
As mentioned by @7149041, Apple is describing the team that supports the retail stores (and they work in the corporate office, i.e. not customer-facing). These are the folks that plan out retail layouts/merchandising, possibly supply chain, in-store signage, M&P for internal retail comms, etc.