Apple to Give Employees $500 Off Macs and $250 Off iPads

[SuperCachetes]

Yes, using a simple monetary value. This is what this is. You don't use cable, maybe the Apple employee doesn't use an iPad or a Mac. So what ? I was making a monetary argument to people who were ready to quite their day jobs for Apple over 250$/year.

Reality sinking in...

I don't disagree with you in that it's dumb to change jobs just for that. Obviously this forum has some, uh, overexcited Apple fans from time to time. As I said, I don't think being a recruiting/retention incentive is its main goal.

But to say this is a crumby perk just because you can get twice as much cash value from the cable company is silly. In either case, the respective perk is a tiny fraction of all the payroll and other benefits an employee gets, and it'd be ridiculous to weigh the merit of a job (or to change jobs) on that issue alone.

 

[D.T.]

Seems kind of stingy. At my workplace we get a heck of a lot more than $500 off, up to four times per year, and we can give a similar discount to friends and family members up to four times per year. No one wants to make a big deal about working for an automotive manufacturer, I guess.

...and from your comment it sounds like your workplace is an auto manufacturer? It's all relative ... a $500 discount on a $1500 computer vs. an X discount on a $30,000 vehicle ...

Well they are Foxconn employees, so why would they get an Apple employee discount?

Exactly, does Apple give discounts to the employees of Samsung? LG? Anybody else in the supply chain? Does _any_ company do that?

That's called a *bonus*, not a discount.

Right again.

This is a nice little extra perk for folks working at Apple, outside of their pay scale, insurance, bonuses, etc. If I was working at an Apple store while I was in college, I would have greatly appreciated this discount.

Apple is also in the position of their products being highly valued in the "gray" market, so I would think they'd need some kind of control mechanism to prevent employees from become distributors

 

[gkpm]

When I was working for the cableco some 10 odd years, we had free cable service, including pay channels and 13$ cable Internet as part of our benefits. Basically, a value of around 80$ per month. That's much more generous than this offer from Apple.

And what's the cost to the cableco in supplying you with cable service and cheaper Internet? ~ $0 or not far from it (depends what pay channels you have and what agreements they have)

Apple on the other hand is discounting a physical product, which costs real money to make, and one you can also sell on when you get bored. Try selling your past 10 years of cable service.

 

[*LTD*]

Nice to see Cook hasn't fallen far from the Jobs tree. Not a big departure from what Jobs might have done (apparently, anyway.) I'm usually suspicious of too sudden overt generosity when it comes to a company in Apple's situation.

 

[jhende7]

Yes, let's thank "god" for removing choice and options in this world.

Of course you have choice. You can choose to go with open (malware) Android. But you won't jump ship, because just like your province, your all talky, no leavy.

 

[KnightWRX]

I don't disagree with you in that it's dumb to change jobs just for that. Obviously this forum has some, uh, overexcited Apple fans from time to time. As I said, I don't think being a recruiting/retention incentive is its main goal.

But to say this is a crumby perk just because you can get twice as much cash value from the cable company is silly. In either case, the respective perk is a tiny fraction of all the payroll and other benefits an employee gets, and it'd be ridiculous to weigh the merit of a job (or to change jobs) on that issue alone.

Where did I say crumby ? I said it's not surprising given the perks given by other commercial entities. It's not some big "Apple is the only ones doing this!" thing.

Why does this forum always have to devolve into "It's so great even sliced got a run for its money!" or "it sucks so much it shouldn't even exist!".

It's a nice perk. Really great for those who will get it. But again, it's just par for the course as far as I've seen perks/bonuses go in my career, it's not some kind of Apple exclusive.

 

[100Teraflops]

About time! Apple employees should receive a discount, since they work for the electrical giant! It's only fair... But, one purchase every three years is silly because somebody can work there for five months and receive $500 off a mac, and then leave the company, but the person who is employed for three years can only buy one Mac? Com'mon.

 

[applesith]

I wonder what discounts they give to Foxconn employees #laborlaws

Those people work for Foxconn, not Apple. There is no reason for a company to extend their benefits to third party supply partners.

 

[KnightWRX]

Of course you have choice. You can choose to go with open (malware) Android. But you won't jump ship

I'm not ready at this point to take a monetary loss over it no. The investment I have in the platform is too great to go with Android right now for me, hence why I got a 4S.

I reported the racial slur btw. It's against the rules, and frankly was quite unwarranted.

 

[toddybody]

500.00 plus 25% off? Wow, thats generous. It must be close to cost for them.

It would be great if they offered every Apple employee a base notebook model for their first year at the company.

 

[seamuskrat]

Apple is like most larg corporations and offers an employee discount.

I do not think any consumer is pondering why an Apple employee gets a discount. Look at major Fortune 500 companies. JnJ, Merck, Pfizer - all offer discounted consumer products to employees. Ford, GM and Toyota all offer substantial employee discounts. Target offers a discunt, Barnes and Noble offers a discount. The Gap and Disney store off a discount. It is a rather common practice.

Just because Apple is doing well does not mean it should alter this practice. The additional money is a bonus to all employees. It will boost the sales numbers only slightly and allow Apple employees to buy more products at an even greater discount. The three year rule, as pointed out is to prevent secondary market sales. Very sane decision as that could erode consumer confidence.

As for cash bonus, again Apple like much of corporate America pays a bonus based on personal performance and company performance. Most Apple salaried non-retail employees are eligible to participate and I am sure they are doing very well by the program. The better your work evaluation and performance the more you can earn with a bonus. Again, quite standard in coporate America. It is possible that retail offers similar advantages to full time staff like managers. Very few part time employees anywhere get these perks. If I recall correctly, Apple retail is often 25% more pay per hour than typical retail jobs of a similar nature, so that is already built in.

As to Foxconn, Apple does not own them or control them. Just as they cannot dictate how Best Buy treats its employees, they cannot do that with Foxcon. They have done a good job (and yes, more can and should be done) to ensure better working conditions, safety and wages. Few companies would task their supplier with costing them more. You must admire Apple for this. Please also keep in mind China is a developing economy. Many of the employees are very happy with their wages and conditions. ANY and ALL companies can do better. But there is no proof that Samsung, IBM, Dell, HP or the like have done anything to strive for better wages and conditions in overseas factories. Bottom line is as consumers we demand a cheap product. You cannot pay the labor great wages if you sell as a commodity. Apple at least does use some of their margin to force suppliers to behave in a more socially responsible manner. Again it could be better, but technically speaking it is not the job of Apple to do this. They should morally do all they can, and ethically do it, but legally theyhave no obligation and many shareholders would object if they used that nearly 100 billion in cash for that purpose.

For Apple to have the turn around and success that it enjoys is nothing short of amazing. In the present world climate Apple, as a huge profitable corporation has a target and cannot please every one or every agenda. If they brought back manufacturing to the US, discunted Macs and iPhones and made all sorts of other changes, still many would be unsatisfied and likely those moves would destroy the company. Tim Cook is an operations guy and knows the fragile balance between global supply and cost and price.

Take this news at face value. Apple now offers its emplyees another perk for working a Apple and a nicer incentive to buy and use Apple products.

 

[MattGintx]

So you'd take a pay drop of a couple of thousand dollars for what amounts to basically 250$ added revenue per year ?

Or maybe your current job doesn't pay more than a janitor job ?

Frankly, this is a nice gesture for employees, but hardly a reason to quit your day job and take a salary cut over. Apply to work for Apple because the position, advantages and salary are what you want, not because you get a discount on a Mac.

With my current job, I can easily afford that 500$ and I doubt Apple has any positions in Quebec that can live-up to my job (and I can't move to the US to fill positions that would).

This wreaks of arrogance. Great for you if you make more then an apple retail employee. Plenty of people don't and the discount for those that work apples lower paying jobs im sure is helpful. I'm amazed at the attitudes I see on this board.

 

[KnightWRX]

This wreaks of arrogance. Great for you if you make more then an apple retail employee. Plenty of people don't and the discount for those that work apples lower paying jobs im sure is helpful. I'm amazed at the attitudes I see on this board.

What are you on about ? Arrogance what ? Pointing out to a poster why taking a "janitor" job at Apple over 500$ every 3 years is arrogant ?

The comment about my job ? Sorry, but in Quebec, Apple corporate has no technical staff in the career path I am in. They only have those positions in the US. Would I apply if I lived in the US ? Maybe I would have. Does it make sense for me to drop my career to go work a sales/marketing/retail job over 500$ ? Of course not.

And where did I say this wasn't a nice perk for employees. In fact, quite the contrary, I'm sure I said it about 50 times over already. It's a nice added advantage/bonus for Apple employees. It's just not "so nice we should all quite and go work for Apple". At the end of the day, it's 250$/year added to your salary, nothing more/less.

I'm amazed at the amount of misinterpretation I see on this board. Always someone to attack another because he's not joining the "over enthusiastic, it's apple thus it's better than anything" crowd.

 

[jhende7]

I'm not ready at this point to take a monetary loss over it no. The investment I have in the platform is too great to go with Android right now for me, hence why I got a 4S.

I reported the racial slur btw. It's against the rules, and frankly was quite unwarranted.

A racial slur? A bit of a stretch from poking some fun at a fellow Canadian. If were the forum police, then shouldn't I report you derailing the conversation about an Apple employee incentive to an argument about the iOS ecosystem being a "walled garden".

It just astonishes be how you have nothing positive to say about Apple yet your always on these forums complaining about them. It has to be come kind of complex.

This wreaks of arrogance. Great for you if you make more then an apple retail employee. Plenty of people don't and the discount for those that work apples lower paying jobs im sure is helpful. I'm amazed at the attitudes I see on this board.

Absolutely. Goes on about how he has such a great job, and so this must mean Apples incentive is crap.

 

[voonyx]

What are you on about ? Arrogance what ? Pointing out to a poster why taking a "janitor" job at Apple over 500$ every 3 years is arrogant ?

The comment about my job ? Sorry, but in Quebec, Apple corporate has no technical staff in the career path I am in. They only have those positions in the US. Would I apply if I lived in the US ? Maybe I would have. Does it make sense for me to drop my career to go work a sales/marketing/retail job over 500$ ? Of course not.

And where did I say this wasn't a nice perk for employees. In fact, quite the contrary, I'm sure I said it about 50 times over already. It's a nice added advantage/bonus for Apple employees. It's just not "so nice we should all quite and go work for Apple". At the end of the day, it's 250$/year added to your salary, nothing more/less.

I'm amazed at the amount of misinterpretation I see on this board. Always someone to attack another because he's not joining the "over enthusiastic, it's apple thus it's better than anything" crowd.

Hyperbole is your strong suit, clearly. I know when I read this thread everyone was saying "Let's all quit our careers and go work for Apple! YEAHH!!"

It was a thread about a perk that Apple employees get, and that's all it was. You made it into a "Pshh, this is nothing, I can afford this, and no big deal here" thread. What exactly are you so upset about?

 

[KnightWRX]

It just astonishes be how you have nothing positive to say about Apple

Visit the programming and OS X forums once in a while. Especially, look at MC/Space/Expose threads and most programming topics where I reply.

I have plenty of positive stuff to say about Apple and their products. Your selective view is just that : selective. If you don't like my posts, feel free to ignore them instead of jumping down my throat. I'm not 100% Apple, I'm not 0% either. Again, there 99 integer numbers between those 2 values.

And Monkeysee... derailed the conversation of this into a "respect and believe in" thing, I was replying to that comment specifically.

 

[Ciclismo]

Signed by Apple's CEO, Scrooge.

I'm guessing you're one of these bankers that, irrespective of how poor your performance, can rely on getting a massive bonus. Because getting 25% off any of your own products, and a $500 discount on top (which could under circumstances add up to almost a half-price "Big-Ticket" item) is nothing to sneer at in my book.

 

[jhende7]

Visit the programming and OS X forums once in a while. Especially, look at MC/Space/Expose threads and most programming topics where I reply.

I have plenty of positive stuff to say about Apple and their products. Your selective view is just that : selective. If you don't like my posts, feel free to ignore them instead of jumping down my throat. I'm not 100% Apple, I'm not 0% either. Again, there 99 integer numbers between those 2 values.

And Monkeysee... derailed the conversation of this into a "respect and believe in" thing, I was replying to that comment specifically.

Oh, so you only hate on Apple in the most publicly viewed forums, but if i dig down deep enough into the technical forums of MR I will find evidence that you don't loath everything Apple?

I'm sorry for not peeling back the extra layers of Onion to discover what your like deep down. Carry on.

 

[Kwill]

Apple has, what 20,000 employees? If "employees" includes Foxconn workers, Apple would virtually be providing discounts a small "nation." It's great (though I doubt Foxconn workers could afford the products even with the discounts).

 

[anthonymoody]

Great gesture. They should get free iPhones too.

 

[MonkeySee....]

Visit the programming and OS X forums once in a while. Especially, look at MC/Space/Expose threads and most programming topics where I reply.

I have plenty of positive stuff to say about Apple and their products. Your selective view is just that : selective. If you don't like my posts, feel free to ignore them instead of jumping down my throat. I'm not 100% Apple, I'm not 0% either. Again, there 99 integer numbers between those 2 values.

And Monkeysee... derailed the conversation of this into a "respect and believe in" thing, I was replying to that comment specifically.

Haha. I derailed the thread????

 

[Gregintosh]

When I was at the genius bar in Covent Garden, London recently there were two geniuses showing their Samsung Galaxy S2 wallpapers to each other. When I asked jokingly if that was even allowed one of them said it was because they wanted iPhone 4Ss but couldn't afford them.

Now they can (or maybe they actually preferred their S2s and were spinning me a line)

I call B.S. on this. A Galaxy S2 costs EXACTLY the same on contract as an iPhone 4S.

This whole "Apple is expensive" meme is such a load of crap especially when it comes to phones since in that area Apple's products cost exactly the same if not less then competitors.

Looking at the Galaxy Nexus or whatever the latest Android phone was, I recall it starting at $299 with a 2-year contract, versus an iPhone 4S which can be had for $199.

Clearly they probably just like the Samsung product more and felt it would be stupid to admit to liking a competitor while they are wearing Apple's uniform.

----------

And all you people who say this is not generous, you need to really re-examine your entitlement mentalities. The company doesn't owe anyone anything. Employees already get discounts as well. So for Apple to do something nice is a good thing. I bet you are the same people who whined that you didn't get better toys for Christmas when you were young instead of being grateful for what you did get.

 

[voonyx]

I call B.S. on this. A Galaxy S2 costs EXACTLY the same on contract as an iPhone 4S.

This whole "Apple is expensive" meme is such a load of crap especially when it comes to phones since in that area Apple's products cost exactly the same if not less then competitors.

Looking at the Galaxy Nexus or whatever the latest Android phone was, I recall it starting at $299 with a 2-year contract, versus an iPhone 4S which can be had for $199.

Clearly they probably just like the Samsung product more and felt it would be stupid to admit to liking a competitor while they are wearing Apple's uniform.

----------

And all you people who say this is not generous, you need to really re-examine your entitlement mentalities. The company doesn't owe anyone anything. Employees already get discounts as well. So for Apple to do something nice is a good thing. I bet you are the same people who whined that you didn't get better toys for Christmas when you were young instead of being grateful for what you did get.

I've asked several times and the people who cry about it being overpriced have never been able to provide an example of a similarly spec'd phone that costs way less then the 4S (and I don't mean when they drop to .99 cuz carriers want to unload their unsold inventory after a month).

Strange how iPhone is so overpriced but no one can show me a phone that's as good as it and much cheaper.

 

[MonkeySee....]

I call B.S. on this. A Galaxy S2 costs EXACTLY the same on contract as an iPhone 4S.

Not in the UK. You can get the phone free starting from £27 a month contract. To get a 4S there are 3 more levels you need to go to get it free starting at £42 a month.

 

[Steve121178]

Meanwhile the people that are manufacturing the devices get terrible work conditions and their pay withheld to punish them for not enough output.

I bet you don't moan about the price of the hardware though. There's a reason we pay relatively low prices compared to 10 years ago.

To keep hardware prices low, people who make the stuff have a crappy working environment.