Apple has officially confirmed layoffs impacting over 700 employees, according to several online reports. The layoffs come after the cancellation of two high-profile — yet unconfirmed — projects: the self-driving car initiative (Project Titan) and the development of in-house Micro-LED displays.
California has a mandatory process where companies have to file notices under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) ACT. Apple filed notices and looking at the notices it was clear which teams were impacted the most because of the job cuts.
As per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple handed the pink slip to over 600 employees in California as part of significant changes in its operations. Two ambitious projects, focused on car and smartwatch display development, were slashed by the Cupertino-based tech giant recently. The company filed multiple reports with the California Employment Development Department under the WARN program, outlining the affected employees at various locations. A considerable number of employees were linked to a secretive facility dedicated to next-generation screen development, while others were associated with the car project.
The report also added that 371 employees were laid off from Apple's primary car-related office in Santa Clara, with "dozens of other employees at multiple satellite offices being impacted." Despite these developments, Apple has not disclosed further details about the job cuts.
It's important to note that the WARN notices only provide a partial view of the overall job reductions, as many engineers from these projects were situated in different locations, including Arizona.