Apple bucks layoff trend in Silicon Valley
Apple has announced that it has no plans to lay off any of its employees, in stark contrast to other IT giants in the Silicon Valley region such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta. Although a small number of jobs have been cut in the retail sector, the Cupertino-based tech company is holding back overall. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated in an interview with CNBC that layoffs were not part of the company’s plans, citing them as a last resort. Despite the company posting lower sales and earnings in Q1 of 2023, it experienced significant gains with the iPhone, bolstering the price of its shares.
Mac and iPad sales disappoint
During the same interview, Cook stated that the Mac and iPad business wasn’t doing so well, with Mac sales down by over 30%. He attributed this drop to the challenging macroeconomic climate and comparisons with the MacBook Pro M1 with 14 and 16 inches from the previous year. Apple’s introduction of completely new professional MacBooks in autumn 2021 was well-received in the industry, with the little-changed M2 Max and M2 Pro successor models following in January 2023.
India market holds promise for Apple
The Asia-Pacific market provided Apple with better news, with sales rising to $8.11bn, although China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong lost almost $500m. The Cook sees India as holding particular promise, as the country shows particularly strong figures for first-time buyers and switchers. Apple appears to be following a strategy in India that mirrors its success in China: using the market to build devices but also looking to grow and sell strongly there. “It was a pretty good quarter from an iPhone perspective, especially compared to the market when you look at market stats,” Cook stated.
