After months of avoiding the widespread layoffs ordered by some of its Silicon Valley tech counterparts, Apple is said to be shedding some corporate retail positions as it adjusts to slowing consumer spending and a wobbly economic outlook.
The Cupertino-based iPhone maker is cutting a handful of jobs responsible for the construction and operations of its retail stores, a decision that could indicate the company plans to pause or slow future openings. The news marks Apple's first set of known job cuts since the tech industry began retrenching after months of record pandemic-related growth.
An Apple spokesperson declined CoStar News' request to comment on the cuts, which were reported by Bloomberg on Monday.
It isn't yet clear how many positions will be affected or what the cuts mean in terms of Apple's retail portfolio. The company is said to be positioning the move as a streamlining effort rather than layoffs, setting it apart from other tech giants such as Meta, Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet and others that have collectively laid off tens of thousands of workers in a move to aggressively cut spending and home in on profitable growth.
Adapting To New Phase of Growth
A growing number of Silicon Valley tech companies are making deep cuts to their previously vast real estate portfolios, either by terminating high-profile deals, dumping hundreds of thousands of square feet on the sublease market or relocating to smaller offices at the end of their lease term.
Earlier this year, Alphabet laid off one of its top real estate executives as the search engine giant moves to aggressively shrink its corporate real estate footprint. While it is still moving forward with a handful of projects in places such as Texas and California, company executives said last month that the tech giant expects to take a $500 million hit within the first quarter this year to close offices and end leases as it reduces expenses.
To be clear, Apple is still far behind competing tech companies in terms of laying off workers and cutting back on its physical real estate space. The company has made a point to avoid large layoffs by delaying some corporate bonuses and certain projects, reigning in budgets such as travel, implementing a hiring pause and cutting back on some of its contract positions.
The tech giant also avoided the record hiring that companies such as Meta and Amazon implemented at the height of the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, Apple's workforce increased from about 137,000 people to 164,000. By comparison, Google's headcount climbed from about 119,000 people to more than 190,230 over the same period.
What's more, Apple — with a market value of more than $2.6 trillion, making it one of the world's most valuable companies — is also one of the few examples of tech companies still adding space. Earlier this year it leased a roughly 150,000-square-foot building at Kilroy Realty's Mathilda Campus in Sunnyvale, California, adding to its roster of office and flex properties near its corporate headquarters in Cupertino.
Apple has more than 520 retail stores across 25 countries around the world. It is opening its first outpost in India with its Mumbai location set to debut sometime this month.