In the face of falling revenue, Apple is expanding its hiring freeze to include additional roles, while also delaying bonuses for some of its employees. This information comes from a new report from Bloomberg.
Apple in late 2022, as a part of an effort to cut costs, stopped hiring for most jobs outside of research and development, after slowing its hiring and spending in July. Originally, the hiring freeze did not include jobs working on future devices and long-term Apple initiatives, but the freeze has now expanded to other jobs. While the company is not yet laying off employees, it is leaving positions unfilled as employees leave the company as part of an effort to cut down on the Apple workforce.
Alongside its hiring slowdown, Apple is also reducing the frequency of bonuses for select members of its corporate workforce. Apple usually pays out bonuses and gives out promotions once or twice per year, depending on the division. Bonuses have traditionally been paid out in April and October, but the Cupertino firm is now going to pay out bonuses only once per year. Bonuses will now be paid out in October for all eligible teams. Employees will still receive their full bonuses.
The majority of Apple’s divisions were already on a once-a-year schedule for bonuses and promotions. Divisions on the once-a-year bonus schedule included software engineering and services. However, the operations staff, corporate retail staff, and other groups had still been on the biannual bonus plan.
While many tech companies have announced layoffs, Apple is instead focusing on cutting back on hiring. This is while Twitter has laid off thousands of employees following the social network’s takeover by Elon Musk and Facebook has announced plans to lay off approximately 10,000 more employees. Meanwhile, Google parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees back in January, and Microsoft made cuts to its AI ethics team this month, following several other layoffs at the firm.
Last week it was announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to receive a $3 million base salary, a $6 million cash bonus, and stock awards worth approximately $40 million this year. His 2023 compensation package is actually down approximately 40%, as he pocketed $99 million in 2022. Cook’s pay is tied closely to overall company performance. The shift was decided on after shareholders became upset about his pay package.
Shareholders approved a proposal that will see executive salaries decided with an annual vote. Other Apple executives will earn approximately $27 million each in 2023. This includes chief operating officer Jeff Williams, chief financial officer Luca Maestri, retail head Deirdre O’Brien, general counsel Katherine Adams, services chief Eddy Cue, software head Craig Federighi, and others.
Apple revenues saw a five percent drop year-over-year during the first fiscal quarter of 2023, and the Cupertino company is expecting a notable decline in revenue from sales of its iPad and MacBook lineups.
