Apple has been able to avoid layoffs amidst the ongoing economic uncertainties through several cost-cutting steps like delaying bonuses, putting projects on hold, pausing hiring and more, according to a recent report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
At the time when top tech companies like Meta and Twitter have resorted to massive job cuts in order to stay afloat amidst the anticipated economic slowdown, Apple has been successful in mitigating such a move by taking careful and well-thought decisions.
One of the main causes of job cuts is the overhiring during the pandemic. Apple, however, made sure to go with conservative hirings between 2020 and 2022 and that has surely helped company stay far from announcing big-scale lay off.
According to Gurman, Apple at this moment is in a better situation financially than the other tech companies. The iPhone company has a reputation for stability to protect and it is expected to unveil a new headset in the coming months. Layoffs at this moment could cause a big blow to its public image and morale.
Gurman further adds that Apple ‘s top executives are considered people with planned and clear ideas. Layoffs could indicate that either they’ve made some strategic goof up or the global economy is worse than what is being reported.
Some of Apple’s calculated steps to avoid layoffs at the company include delaying bonuses for corporate teams that previously were given twice a year. Gurman says that these teams will now receive bonuses in October when most of the employees receive. “While Apple has already factored that money into its finances, it gets to keep that cash on hand a little longer,” Gurman writes in his latest edition of Power On newsletter.
The company is also said to delay some projects including the production of new home devices like HomePod with a screen. It is now expected to arrive next year. Apple has also limited the budget across several teams and senior vice president needs to now approve for more items.
As reported several time before, the Cupertino-giant has paused its hiring and is carefully hiring across several teams. However, in cases wherein some people leave their positions, Apple is keeping those roles open rather than closing or filling them. It has also put restrictions on inter-department transfers and cut down on travel budgets. “For some departments, travel has been halted completely for the foreseeable future other than for business-critical reasons. “
Apple is said to have removed some of its contract workers and also cut down on some contractors in the recent past weeks. Managers have been asked to show get stricter about employee’s office attendance. For the retail section, Gurman says that Apple is closely monitoring office hours and attendance. This has irked many employees who fear that falling short on working hours could lead to them losing their job at the company, Apple is also doing away with “special sick time” for time missed due to Covid for the retail employees. They are instead being asked to take normal sick time or incur loss of pay.
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