Apple has largely avoided the large-scale layoffs seen at many of its rivals, including Google and Amazon, but recent news suggests the multi-trillion-dollar company is struggling.
Behind Bloomberg (opens in a new tab) (paywall), Apple delays bonuses for some teams and extends the hiring ban to more areas of business.
Despite the upheaval in the way he handles money, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab) in February 2023 that large layoffs are the “last resort”.
Apple layoffs
Currently, it seems that business computer Maker has no plans to lay off employees as it faces tough economic challenges in 2023, but the company is clearly tying loose ends across all its operations to streamline its finances.
Bloomberg is reporting changes to bonuses for engineers and middle managers that will go from semi-annual (in April and October) to annual, leaving employees hoping for next month’s bonus to wait until the fall to receive two amounts delivered in one.
The report says executive and senior staff will continue to receive quarterly bonuses.
Allowable expenses have also been scrutinized, with more employees facing tougher travel reimbursements and more budget items going on the list of those that require senior vice president approval.
Also, while the company has had a three-day-a-week office mandate for some time, this will be monitored more closely. It is unclear if there will be any consequences for staff who do not comply sufficiently.
It remains to be seen how the state of the global economy will develop, but Apple posted its first quarterly decline in nearly four years last quarter, so the company may have to resort to a more offensive cost-cutting strategy.