Apple's Employee Count Grew This Year Despite Smaller-Scale Layoffs

[MacRumors]

Apple's employee count grew in 2024, despite reports that the company had at least four incidents of smaller-scale layoffs this year.

As of late September, Apple had approximately 164,000 full-time employees worldwide, the company disclosed in a filing last week. That's up from the 161,000 full-time employees that Apple reported a year ago. These figures include corporate employees, such as software engineers, and retail employees at its stores.

Apple now has as many employees as it did in 2022, following a slight decrease last year.

Apple's full-time employee counts by year, per the company's filings:

• 2024: 164,000
• 2023: 161,000
• 2022: 164,000
• 2021: 154,000
• 2020: 147,000
• 2019: 137,000
• 2018: 132,000

Apple laid off more than 600 employees this year after canceling its long-running electric vehicle project, according to a notice the company filed in California. The company also relocated a Siri evaluation team from San Diego, California to Austin, Texas, and some on the 120-person team who were not willing to make the long-distance move were laid off.

Apple also cut around 100 jobs across its Apple Books and Apple News teams this year, and laid off some employees after abandoning its plan to develop in-house Apple Watch displays with micro-LED technology, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

While some other tech companies like Google and Microsoft have laid off tens of thousands of employees over the past two years, Apple has managed to avoid larger-scale layoffs in that time. With its employee count once again at an all-time high, and its quarterly revenues in record territory again, Apple is heading into 2025 on a good note.

Article Link: Apple's Employee Count Grew This Year Despite Smaller-Scale Layoffs

 

[Schmitti81]

With 160000 people:
If they stay in average 4 years, Apple needs to higher about 40000 per year in average or about 150 per work day.

 

[CrysisDeu]

with how fast(slow) they are innovating as of today, they need 10x that to stay competitive. So we can get 120hz studio display and Apple Glasses, (and the homepod with screen whatever it is lol)

But 160,000 is a lot of people for a tech company.. I wonder why things go so slowly

 

[WarmWinterHat]

with how fast(slow) they are innovating as of today, they need 10x that to stay competitive.

But 160,000 is a lot of people for a tech company.. I wonder why things go so slowly

I wonder too. I've never worked in tech, or even adjacent to tech.

I have a cousin that is a developer at the spaceship, and he strictly works internal software used at the retail locations. I guess there are all types of positions that don't work on consumer-facing things.

 

[MacTwick]

I want to mention that Apple offered other positions to the majority of the people on the car project. And to those who didn't get offered another position, they were given 90 days to apply internally for another role at Apple.

This is much different than a traditional layoff we see happening daily in tech, and is very misleading.

 

[Stromos]

Layoff QA engineers hire more emoji designers! /s

 

[CrysisDeu]

I wonder too. I've never worked in tech, or even adjacent to tech.

I have a cousin that is a developer at the spaceship, and he strictly works internal software used at the retail locations. I guess there are all types of positions that don't work on consumer-facing things.

I work in tech, things don’t go as fast as you would expect. But Apple moves sooo slow..

Huawei have 207,000 full time employees, Samsung electronics have 267,800, Xiaomi 32,500 for comparison.

 

[Johnny907]

I wonder how many of these were Apple culling those who refused to return to the office.

 

[sw1tcher]

Huawei have 207,000 full time employees, Samsung electronics have 267,800, Xiaomi 32,500 for comparison.

Xiaomi was able to develop, build and deliver their SU7 EV with only 35,xxx employees. Over 75K delivered so far with expected total deliveries to hit 120K by year and and 250K for 2025. That's pretty impressive.

 

[CrysisDeu]

Xiaomi was able to develop, build and deliver their SU7 EV with only 35,xxx employees. Over 75K delivered so far with expected total deliveries to hit 120K by year and and 250K for 2025. That's pretty impressive.

And that’s why I don’t understand why Apple moves so slowly.
It’s not like companies like Foxxconn, etc. are not helping with the research/development

 

[coffeemilktea]

You think they'd have enough people to figure out how to get the Magic Mouse to charge without flipping it over. 😔

 

[GMShadow]

with how fast(slow) they are innovating as of today, they need 10x that to stay competitive. So we can get 120hz studio display and Apple Glasses, (and the homepod with screen whatever it is lol)

But 160,000 is a lot of people for a tech company.. I wonder why things go so slowly

Many of them are retail employees. Apple runs a pretty tight ship on the engineering and development side.

 

[Spike1999]

Are they still pushing for employees to return to the office?

 

[sw1tcher]

You think they'd have enough people to figure out how to get the Magic Mouse to charge without flipping it over. 😔

Those people were moved to work on the Mac mini's power button. In the end they were like "F it. Let's be consistent and put it on the bottom like the charging port of the Magic Mouse."

 

[dmr727]

Apple runs a pretty tight ship on the engineering and development side.

Based on the mess a lot of the software seems to be (Homekit, Siri, etc), I wish the ship weren't quite so tight. Either that or slow down the cadence of major software updates. I highly doubt it's a talent issue - it certainly feels like their software guys are being spread too thin.

 

[picpicmac]

why Apple moves so slowly.

Slowly for what, exactly?

Also, things you seem to not know:
1) Samsung was started in 1938, had the problem of wars of course, but is a general manufacturing company that makes all sorts of things, like refrigerators. That you are comparing them to Apple is odd.
2) Huawei was started by a guy from the PLA, fulfills directives of the CCP, and that is why some nations limit or ban Huawei in some form.