Big scale—cutbacks to its ambitious efforts: Apple announced it’s laying off over 600 employees in California. It would be the latest sign that the technology giant rethinks its interest in electric-car development and other bold forays into futuristic products.
Detail the layoffs in a state filing: that’s one of the first direct results of the company facing serious obstacles, including cost overruns and projects that experience long delays. In a series of notices to the state last Tuesday, they pinpointed the layoff dates for different offices in Santa Clara and said that it would be effective by late May—a sign that Apple works to wind down the projects.
Of the sites identified, one would be the new office that is purely set up for screen development, and the other one will be linked to Apple’s electric vehicle project. Those layoffs were only part of the overall workforce reduction related to those projects, as Apple’s teams were spread across several states and internationally. However, there’s a silver lining for some employees who were integrated into other projects within the company.
In fact, Bloomberg cited that most of the workers who dealt with the electric car project were reassigned to Apple’s rapidly growing artificial intelligence division. In fact, Bloomberg reported that employees were shifted to Apple’s rapidly growing artificial intelligence unit as the company reshapes its plans. The electric-vehicle project, reported earlier this month by Bloomberg, was winding down and dissipating by late February.
Part of a more general recalibration within the industry, wrestling with challenges related to technology adaptation, market viability, and consumer demand.
Apple faced similar issues in its efforts to come up with next-generation screen technology for its Apple Watch. The move mirrored the hurdles the electric vehicle initiative went through that had the fruits from the projects realized after financial overruns and delays to actualize them. According to information spelled out in a company’s annual report, at the end of September, Apple employed 161,000 full-time employees. While its recent workforce adjustments, strategic realignment at Apple underscores its flexibility not to lose focus on continuing to concentrate in areas most likely to foster growth, including artificial intelligence.
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