Apple has initiated yet another round of job cuts in its workforce. This time, the reduction was within its digital services division, cutting approximately 100 positions, according to media reports. The affected roles primarily involve teams associated with the Apple Books app and the Apple Bookstore, with additional impacts on engineering and other service-oriented teams.
The layoffs have been most pronounced within the Apple Books team, signalling a strategic pivot away from this sector. Despite the reduction in personnel, Apple has indicated that the Books app will continue to receive updates and enhancements. And even though it will not be completely abandoned, the platform’s prominence in Apple’s service offerings has diminished in recent times. In contrast, the cuts within the Apple News team do not reflect a decrease in the platform’s importance. Apple News continues to be a critical component of the company’s services portfolio, which also includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Apple Fitness+.
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Apple’s decision to downsize also comes amid broader economic challenges and external market pressures. The company has faced headwinds in key markets, including a recent 6.5% decline in sales in China, its third-largest market. Despite these challenges, Apple’s services division remains a robust revenue driver. Services, including Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Apple News, have seen substantial growth, contributing over 22% of the company’s total sales in the most recent fiscal year. This represents a significant increase from less than 10% a decade ago.
This development comes at a time when Apple has been organizing organizational restructuring that has been evident in several areas of the company throughout the year. Earlier this year, Apple also reduced its workforce when it discontinued its self-driving car initiative and microLED display project, and it closed a team in San Diego. And if this is not enough, the Cupertino-headquartered tech behemoth is also increasingly focusing on emerging technologies such as AI, a shift that has influenced its operational and staffing decisions, and is evident in its newest devices. iOS 18, for example, is slated to receive a healthy dose of generative AI-powered features, and Apple has already unveiled Apple intelligence, its AI platform.
