Apple layoffs: After Google, Amazon, Meta the iPhone maker may start laying off employees

iPhone-maker Apple is reportedly cutting a small number of roles in its corporate retail teams, according to sources cited by Bloomberg News on Monday. The layoffs are expected to affect the company's development and preservation teams, but the number of jobs being eliminated remains unclear and is likely to be minimal. A report by Business Insider also claims that Apple employees have been asked to reapply for their jobs or else they will be fired. 

The report claims that the groups that are most affected by the job cuts are responsible for the construction and upkeep of Apple retail stores and other facilities around the world.

The news comes amid concerns about a potential economic downturn due to rising interest rates, which have already led to mass job cuts across various industries in recent months. Even Big Tech companies are not immune, as evidenced by Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook) announcing last month that it would cut 10,000 jobs in 2022, marking its second round of mass layoffs. In the first round, the company laid off 11,000 employees. Meta made these moves under their 'year of efficiency' initiative. 

Also read: Walmart to lay off 2,000 employees from e-commerce warehouses

Google laid off 12,000 employees earlier this year impacting vast geographies. The company CEO Sundar Pichai explained that this move was committed to in a planned fashion and it was done to stop the situation from getting worse.

Amazon has so far fired 27,000 employees in two round of job cuts. In the first round, the company laid off 18,000 employees and in the second round of job cuts, Amazon laif off 9,000 employees.