Apple laying off 600+ in California
Apple is going to be laying off more than 600 employees in California, according to a state release.
A WARN notice posted by California said 614 employees at eight different facilities in Santa Clara County will be permanently laid off. Employees were given notice of the layoffs March 28, and the terminations will be effective as of May 27.
Apple also laid off 121 employees in San Diego County earlier this year. They will be terminated as of April 26.
The news of the downsizing comes just after Apple canceled its plans earlier this year to build an electric car. First reported by Bloomberg, the company announced in February that it would be winding down its decadelong effort to build an electric car.
The company’s Special Projects Group, SPG, which is about 2,000 employees, took the news as a surprise. Executives told the employees they would be moving from the car team to an artificial intelligence team.
Apple is based in Cupertino, which is in Santa Clara County.
The Hill has reached out to Apple for comment on the layoffs, but the company declined to comment when reached by CNBC News.
Apple is also in the middle of its biggest antitrust challenge yet as the Department of Justice (DOJ) targets the tech giant’s control of the smartphone market. The DOJ argues that Apple’s creation of the iPhone ecosystem has given the company dominance over the market for smartphones.
The company is accused of creating services and products that only work best when used with Apple systems to maintain dominance across different technological devices.