Apple’s Q1 2023 earnings were below expectations, and in a slowing economy, the company’s CEO, Tim Cook, would always be contemplating if cost reductions should be observed by laying off employees. The Chief Executive did an interview, talking about the very subject, to which Cook responded that it was viewed as a last resort option.
Tim Cook also took a 40 percent cut for 2023, likely in anticipation that Apple would experience a rough 2023, financially
Talking with The Wall Street Journal, 9to5Mac reports that Tim Cook had a different opinion on employee retention and cost-cutting. However, assuming things get worse, Apple might have to take some drastic measures. Cook also took a 40 percent pay cut for 2023, bringing his total compensation down to $49 million.
“I view layoffs as a last resort kind of thing. You can never say never. We want to manage costs in other ways to the degree that we can.”
Where technology giants like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and others were laying off in droves, Apple has managed to avoid that onslaught. Several CEOs of these companies admitted that they over-hired during the pandemic, and they are now paying for their errors, but it appears that Apple took a more conservative approach when recruiting. It was even reported that Meta hired 15,000 people for its headset business, whereas Apple only recruited one-fifth of that workforce, which equals 3,000 people.
In a separate report, The Wall Street Journal stated that the reason why the California-based giant has averted any layoffs was that it avoided any unaggressive hiring practices. The company has still laid off non-seasonal employees, but these are individuals whose contracts had already expired, so it mattered little. Even after being careful, Tim Cook does not rule out the possibility of laying off staff, but there are other measures it can undertake to retain its employees.
This can include not filling executive positions when an individual leaves, such as the case for the chief industrial design officer, where industrial designers will now report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer instead of appointing a new leadership role.
The post Apple CEO Tim Cook Does Not Rule Out The Possibility Of Laying Off Employees, But Says It Will Be The Company’s Last Resort by Omar Sohail appeared first on Wccftech.
