In what has been described as an unusual move by the tech giant, Apple has eliminated dozens of sales jobs in an effort to make it easier for the company to offer iPhones and other Apple products to businesses, governments, and schools. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg says that Apple started giving the bad news to those affected by the layoffs two weeks ago.
Apple lays off employees who sell devices to schools, businesses, and the government
Jobs affected by the move included account managers dialing for dollars working with Apple's business customers, schools that buy Apple devices, and those government agencies that purchase products made by Apple. Also caught in the layoff were the staff that set up product demonstrations for potential big-time customers, and those who operate briefing centers where institutional meetings are held.
Will Apple regret this move?
Yes. It needs in-house sales to deal with some buyers.
50%
No way. Apple products sell themselves.
50%
According to the report, some sales teams were hard hit by the layoffs and Apple kept quiet by not informing its employees exactly which roles were part of the pink slip attack. The job cuts did impact Apple's entire sales organization. The sales team reports to Apple CEO Tim Cook and is overseen by VP Mike Fenger. All enterprise and education sales are the responsibility of Vivek Thakkar.
Those losing their jobs had no idea that Apple was going to lay them off
An Apple spokesman put Apple's spin on the news. "To connect with even more customers, we are making some changes in our sales team that affect a small number of roles. We are continuing to hire, and those employees can apply for new roles." Those affected by the layoffs were surprised to receive the notice especially since Apple has been able to generate a huge increase in revenue this year and expects to report
a record-breaking top line for the December quarter with sales on pace to hit $140 billion.
A couple of weeks ago, Apple eliminated 20 jobs for its sales teams in in Australia and New Zealand. One reason why this is considered a surprising move by Apple is because it is believed to be developing a low-priced laptop that would be perfect for the business and educational markets which are two of the areas where Apple has handed out pink slips to sales personnel.
The Apple sales team reports to CEO Tim Cook. | Image credit-Apple
A couple of paragraphs ago, we told you that Apple invited employees who were laid off to apply for new jobs. In that vein, Apple sad that employees who lost their jobs have until January 20th to get another job inside the company or else they will be officially terminated and will receive severance pay. Some of the employees leaving Apple have been with the company for 20 to 30 years.
There is speculation that third-party resellers will replace those let go by Apple
One of the teams hard hit by Apple's actions was the sales team that works with U.S. government agencies such as the U.S. Defense Department and the Department of Justice. This team already was stressed after facing issues like the record 43-day government shutdown and job cuts forced on Apple by the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE.
Apple is positioning the layoffs as part of a plan to streamline its sales teams to eliminate overlapping jobs. But some of those laid off by Apple have a different story. They claim that Apple wanted to have more sales come from third-party resellers, which Apple refers to as the channel. Not on, would this shift allow Apple to save some money by lowering salaries, it could also boost sales since some organization prefer to do business with a reseller as opposed to a sales team from the actual company.
Last year saw Apple lay off a large number of employees due to a sluggish economy and projects that Apple canceled including its self-driving car. Employees working in the Services unit, Apple's second-largest business after the iPhone, and its AI-division also were let go last year.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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