In the escalation of cost cuts, Apple has stopped hiring for many jobs outside of its Research & Development (R&D) department according to Bloomberg.
Previously, it was reported that the company was slowing hiring and spending for select teams and would not re-hire for the positions of departed employees in 2023 as part of its efforts to deal with the potential economic downturn.
In August, the tech giant laid off about 100 contractual recruiters who were responsible for hiring new employees for the company. The latest hiring pause is an escalation of its current plan “to reduce budgets heading into next year.”
Apple latest pause on hiring is not applicable to teams working on future devices
The report further details that although the new pause on hiring, impacts some corporate functions and standard hardware and software engineering roles, it is not applicable on teams working on future devices and long-term initiatives.
Some teams within Apple are still able to hire in special circumstances, according to the people, and the company continues to advertise new roles on its recruiting website. While new roles remain open, the actual hiring process has largely been placed on hold.
The tech giant’s decision to pause and slow hire is to rein in budgets for next year but it has not cut its R&D budget. The company’s Q4, 2022 earning report revealed that the budget of R&D was increased by 20%. The report explains:
Apple’s fourth-quarter report confirmed that its research- and-development budget isn’t getting squeezed. R&D spending rose 20% in fiscal 2022, compared with a 17% gain in the prior year. The company continues to work on future augmented- and virtual-reality products, as well as an autonomous vehicle.
Apple said in a filing alongside its earnings report that the growth in R&D spending was “driven primarily by increases in headcount-related expenses and engineering program costs.” Total operating expenses increased 17%.
