Apple laying off employees to overcome economic hurdles

The recent months haven’t been kind to big tech firm workers. Tech giants resorting to laying off workers to tackle economic difficulties has emerged as a significant trend. However, Apple managed to distinguish itself by avoiding layoffs. Until now! It appears the Cupertino-based company has initiated staff reduction within its retail teams.

Apple might resort to downsizing to overcome economic hurdles

Big tech firms, counted among the largest in the world, have laid off tens of thousands of their workforce, intending to cut costs. According to a report from Bloomberg (via SamMobile), Apple will also be downsizing its retail teams. While the report does not reveal the exact number of employees affected by the move, it is likely to be minimal.

The report also suggests that Apple is framing the layoff as a means of streamlining operations instead of calling them cost-cutting measures. Most of the job cuts affect the building maintenance and upkeep division that service the company’s retail outlets.

Compared to other tech giants, Apple layoffs are presumably less substantial. Speaking of other firms, Amazon let go of 27,000 employees, while Meta (formerly Facebook) has laid off 21,000 people. Similarly, Microsoft and Google cut 10,000 and 12,000 jobs, respectively.

Although Apple might not have laid off a huge chunk of its workforce, it is unclear whether the company will continue with periodic layoffs in smaller numbers in the coming months. Even if that’s the case, Apple is no longer among the few big tech players capable of navigating the current economic crisis without cutting jobs.

Samsung cuts 3% of jobs from chip division in the US

Samsung has also been forced to make some hard choices. The company recently let go of 3% of its staff from its US-based chip division. Considering the economic challenges for this business unit, it’s likely that the company might cut more jobs in the future. This could particularly happen in the semiconductor department.

According to sources close to the matter, Samsung DSA informed all affected workers about the job cuts, attributing them to “uncertain economic conditions.” Out of the total 1,200 workers in the division, the company laid off 30 individuals.

Samsung isn’t the only semiconductor firm that has let go of its employees. Intel, for instance, posted sales of $14 billion and an operating loss of $700 million in the last quarter of 2022. The numbers marked the worst business performance in almost five decades. In order to mitigate this decline, the company started laying off thousands of employees in the first quarter of 2023.