According to sources familiar with the situation, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) let off a large number of its contract-based recruiters in the past week as part of an effort to reign in the tech giant’s recruiting and expenditure.
About 100 contract employees were laid off in a rare move by the world’s most valuable corporation, according to people who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. The recruiters were responsible for finding new staff for AAPL (NASDAQ:AAPL), and the layoffs indicate that the company is experiencing a slowdown.
The tech giant (NASDAQ:AAPL) informed laid-off employees that the layoffs were made due to changes in the company’s current business needs. Bloomberg revealed for the first time last month that the company was decelerating hiring after years of employee growth, reflecting a trend among tech giants to slow hiring. Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive officer, stated on the company’s results conference call that the company would be more “deliberate” in its expenditure, although continuing to invest in certain areas.
Tim Cook on Apple’s Layoffs
Cook told analysts, “We believe in investing through the down turn. As a result, we will continue to hire employees and invest in regions, but we will do so with greater consideration for environmental concerns.”
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) still retains full-time recruiters, and not all of its contractors were terminated as a result of the transition. A representative from Apple declined to comment on the decision.
More than 150,000 people are employed by the Cupertino, California-based technology behemoth, making the decision to lay off employees unprecedented. However, it is not alone in pursuing this action. In response to a slowdown in tech expenditure, Meta Platforms Inc.(NASDAQ:META), Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) have all terminated employment in recent months.
Contractors who were terminated were informed that they would get two weeks of pay and medical benefits. When employees were laid off, their employee credentials were disabled and they were instructed to email a list of their things in order to get them restored. Recruiters were laid off in numerous places, including the Texas and Singapore headquarters of Apple.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) terminated a huge number of contract employees in Cork, Ireland, in 2019. At the time, the business relied on hundreds of contractors to listen to recordings of Siri conversations in order to enhance the product. In response to privacy concerns, Apple terminated the employees and scaled back the program. In 2015, the corporation also dismissed some contractors working on the Apple Park campus.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), like many other organizations, uses contract employees for activities such as customer service and technical support. In addition, it employs contractors to localize its goods and enhance its Maps service. Contract workers often receive less perks and protections than full-time employees.
Featured Image: Megapixl © Plotnikov
