Apple is laying off a small number of employees in its corporate retail division, marking its first round of reported job cuts since widespread tech layoffs began last year.
The number of affected employees hasn't been disclosed. According to Business Insider, Apple has informed staff in the division that they must apply for other jobs at the company or be let go.
- The jobs cuts are “likely very small"
and will impact Apple’s retail development and preservation unit, which
handles the upkeep and construction of Apple retail stores, Bloomberg
reports.
- The employees are based in the U.S., Europe, and
Asia-Pacific regions. Those who are let go will receive up to four
months of severance pay.
- Internally, Apple has painted the layoffs as a measure to improve operations rather than cut costs.
- It's Apple's first reported round of job cuts affecting full-time employees since the tech layoffs began.
- Last month, Apple cut ties with hundreds of contractors employed by outside agencies but contracted to work on projects for the company.
- As of September, Apple had about 164,000 employees worldwide.
