Despite layoffs at several other tech giants, analysts predict that Apple will avoid layoffs this year.
Key Details
- Apple isn’t expected to announce mass layoffs, unlike its rival companies in the tech industry.
- In large part, the iPhone manufacturer has been able to avoid mass layoffs because of CEO Tim Cook’s strategy during the pandemic.
- Other tech companies hired at a rapid pace while the tech industry boomed during the pandemic. Cook did not. Now those companies are letting staff members go while Cook can retain his current workforce.
Why it’s news
Compared to other tech companies, Apple tends to hire employees at a slower pace. While the company will likely have to cut costs over the next year, just like the rest of the tech industry, Apple’s employment level is already where it needs to be.
“Apple never hired at the pace of these other tech giants. You’ll see cost-cutting around the edges, but Cupertino — I mean, they’re tacticians … I think it just shows why Cook is a Hall of Fame CEO. And I think he’s able to navigate another situation here in terms of not needing to do the layoffs that other tech firms have done,” Wedbush Securities Research Analyst Dan Ives told Yahoo Finance.
Last year, Apple’s employee count only rose 7%. Ives predicts that the company won’t announce any significant layoffs—partly because its hiring has been so low.
Backing up a bit
Other tech companies that hired rapidly during and after the pandemic are cutting their workforces significantly. Most recently, Salesforce has announced its staff will be cut by 10%. Microsoft plans to lay off nearly 10,000 employees this year, and Amazon has announced around 18,000 employee layoffs.
Last year, Meta announced 10,000 pending layoffs, and social-media company Snap and financial advisor Robinhood let go more than 20% of their employees.
Many companies over-hired during the pandemic. Now, recession fears are prompting companies to take cost-saving measures, which means those extra employees could soon be looking for work.