Business

Apple cuts staff after rejecting self-driving vehicle project

Apple recently decided to reduce its workforce by over 600 employees, which is believed to be a result of the company's decision to pursue its self-driving car project no longer.

According to Bloomberg, most of the cuts are related to the site working on the recently abandoned self-driving car project in California.

 

On 28 March, the state's employment department received notification that 614 staff members would be laid off in May.

In contrast to other companies that have resorted to significant job cuts in the wake of the pandemic, the tech giant has avoided widespread layoffs in recent years.

 

Last year in May, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, stated in an interview with CNBC that layoffs would only be considered a last option.

 

According to layoffs. FYI, the industry will see over 50,000 job cuts in 2024.

 

Prominent tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Snap, and PayPal, have recently revealed plans for reductions in 2024.

However, Apple has let go of significantly fewer employees than its rivals.

 

According to Global Data, it has a global workforce of approximately 161,000 employees.

According to industry analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight, even though Apple is the world's most valuable company, no one is exempt from job cuts.

 

Progress decelerates

News about Apple's decision to terminate its significant investment in the self-driving car project surfaced in February.

 

Nevertheless, the company has never publicly acknowledged its existence.

 

According to reports, Apple invested significant money in the research and development of a fully autonomous vehicle that lacks a steering wheel and pedals.

 

However, it was widely acknowledged that vehicle production would still take several years.

 

Other companies, like Ford and General Motors, have also scaled back their efforts in autonomous vehicle research due to increasing costs.

 

According to reports, Apple has shifted a significant portion of its electric car team, consisting of 2,000 employees, to focus on AI projects.

In January, Apple laid off 121 workers in its San Diego office, as indicated by a separate filing in the California jobs report.