Bloomberg reports that Apple laid off about 100 contractual recruiters last week who were responsible for hiring new employees for the company. The decision is taken as part of Apple’s planning to deal with the potential economic downturn.
As the Cupertino tech giant lays off permanent employees, it was reported that the company would be slow hiring and spending for some teams and would not be rehiring positions of the departing employees in 2023.
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the rumors of slow hiring at the Q3, 2022 earnings call. He said that while investing in some areas, the company’s spending will be more “deliberate”.
“We believe in investing through the downturn. And so we’ll continue to hire people and invest in areas, but we are being more deliberate in doing so in recognition of the realities of the environment.”
Fresh cuts indicate that a slowdown is indeed underway at Apple
The last group of contract workers in Cork Ireland was terminated in 2019 and now, after two years, the company has laid off recruiters from many different regions including offices in Texas and Singapore. “The cuts underscore that a slowdown is underway at the company” like at other tech companies in the United States.
The move to lay off workers is unusual for the Cupertino, California-based technology giant, which employs more than 150,000 people. But it’s far from alone in taking such a step. In recent months, Meta Platforms Inc., Tesla Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Oracle Corp. have all eliminated jobs in the face of a tech spending slowdown.
Unlike full-time or permanent employees, contract workers have fewer benefits and protections. According to the report, the tech company will provide two weeks’ pay and medical benefits to the terminated contractors.
Apple employs contract workers for tasks such as technical support and customer service. It also uses contractors for localizing products and improving its Maps service.
