Apple has reportedly laid off dozens of people across its sales division. citing structural changes. This is a rare move for the tech giant, which typically avoids large-scale layoffs even during economic pressures.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the job cuts affect roles focused on selling products to enterprises, educational institutions, and government agencies. Impacted employees were notified over the past few weeks, and the reason was described as 'restructuring to enhance efficiency'.
Which Apple employees were the hardest hit?
The government sales team bore the brunt of the reductions, including account managers and personnel at briefing centres. Some long-serving employees, with up to 30 years at the company, were also among those impacted. Enterprise and education segments also saw layoffs, though the precise breakdown remains undisclosed.
Apple is known for retaining talent, and it resorts to attrition or internal transfers rather than outright job loss. Therefore, layoffs should have been the last resort for Apple, given its history.
In this year itself, several tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Intel, TCS, Infosys, and many more, have laid off thousands of employees citing operational inefficiencies. However, most of these job losses have been blamed on the current AI boom, claiming to replace humans in many job areas.
Affected employees have until January 20 to secure alternative positions within Apple or opt for severance packages. The company has urged those impacted to apply for open sales vacancies and emphasised ongoing opportunities for internal mobility.
What does Apple have to say?
“To connect with even more customers, we are making some changes in our sales team that affect a small number of roles. We are continuing to hire and those employees can apply for new roles,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
