Apple has avoided job cuts in 2023, unlike Google and Amazon. Google and Amazon are planning to lay off thousands of employees as a result of their recent acquisitions. Apple, on the other hand, has avoided job cuts because it hasn’t overhired. Then again, it’s not really hard to see why they haven’t laid off any workers yet
Apple Didn’t Overhire
Apple had avoided job cuts in 2023 because it didn’t overhire like Google and Amazon.
Google, Amazon and others have been laying off thousands of workers in recent years due to the slowdown in technology spending by corporate clients. Apple, on the other hand, has avoided laying off any jobs and has, in fact, continued hiring at a blistering pace since 2010 as it expanded into new markets and created new products that have become staples for many people around the world.
Google and Amazon’s Layoffs Are Mostly Due To Their Acquisitions
In recent years, Jeff Bezos and Larry Page have been investing heavily in tech companies that have struggled to compete with Google and Amazon. They’ve acquired a lot of them:
- Twitter (2018) – $26 billion acquisition price tag
- Slack (2017) – $8.1 billion acquisition price tag
- Nest (2015) – $3.2 billion acquisition price tag
Apple, on the other hand, has avoided job cuts because it hasn’t overhired.
Apple simply has been frugal with their hiring and has avoided overhiring staff.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly expressed a desire to hire more workers, but the company didn’t actually increase its headcount by that much in 2018. In fact, Apple had a net reduction of 2,000 employees after accounting for retirements and promotions–a significant drop from its 10-year average of 5% growth per year. By comparison:
Google (which made headlines last year when it laid off 20 percent of its workforce) was responsible for over 150 percent more hiring than Apple did in 2018 alone; Amazon said it would add 100,000 new positions this year alone!
Then again, it’s not really hard to see why they haven’t laid off any workers yet.
Apple has a lot of cash on hand, which means it’s not likely to lay off any workers unless absolutely necessary. It also has a lot of assets to sell off if it needs to: the HomePod speaker line, its Beats headphone business, and possibly even some of its original content slate (like The Beatles).
Apple will likely use its cash reserves to buy back shares or buy more companies that make products with Apple’s devices in mind–like Ford did when it bought Volvo Cars last year–and continue making investments into other sectors like healthcare technology.
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, Apple has been much more deliberate about adding new employees than Google or Amazon. Since it doesn’t have to worry about overhiring for its own sake, the company can afford to take its time and be thoughtful about how it grows. While Google and Amazon are going through what’s probably going to be a long period of uncertainty in the face of layoffs due to their acquisitions, Apple has remained relatively unscathed by this challenge so far.